Cray Research delivers the first Cray-1A

4th March 1976
Cray Research delivers the first Cray-1A

In 1975, Cray Research announced their first supercomputer, the 80 MHz Cray-1. This machine was the first vector processor supercomputer, performing operations on multiple data values simultaneously.

The first machine, with serial number 001, was eventually delivered to Los Alamos National Laboratory on 4th March 1976 for a six-month trial. The Cray-1 was later renamed the Cray-1A to distinguish it from subsequent models.

The first offical customer for the Cray-1A was the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in July 1977, paying $8.86 million.

The CRAY-1 is faster and more compact than previous supercomputers. The machine is cooled by the refrigerant gas Freon, circulating through stainless steel tubes that run between the circuit boards.

Over the course of its lifetime, eighty Cray-1s were sold, which means that it is one of the most successful supercomputers of all time.

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