WITH remarkable clarity, the words reached the earth from a quarter of a million miles away in space. "Houston," the distant voice announced, "Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." Though somewhat overlooked in the drama of the lunar landing, the intricate electronics systems that brought Neil Armstrong's voice back from the moon were almost as much of an engineering triumph as the rocketry that carried him there.
The long, electronic link with the earth started with tiny microphones carried inside the astronauts' space helmets. Their voices were fed from the mikes into a small, 3-ft.-sq. box directly behind them in...
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