CRAY 1A: 1977–1989

On July 11, 1977, the CRAY-1A, serial number 3, was delivered to NCAR. The system cost was $8.86 million ($7.9 million plus $1 million for the disks). The supercomputer weighed 5-1/2 tons, arrived in two refrigerated electronic vans, and needed more than 30 construction workers, engineers, and helpers to move it into the computer room. NCAR accepted the CRAY-1A in December. It was the first CRAY-1A to go into production, and upon its acceptance, Cray Research became a profitable company. The CRAY-1A was particularly adapted to the needs of the scientific community, permitting advances in modeling climate and severe storms. This CRAY-1A was decommissioned on 27 Janury 1989 and powered off on February 1 after 12 years of service. More information here: https://www2.cisl.ucar.edu/supercomputer/c1