My understanding is that the Atlas rocket itself didn't have a digital guidance computer, and its flight path was controlled by tape when no ground based guidance was available. When mated with the Agena upper stage, the Burroughs guidance computer in the upper stage took over this task from the tape based system, and was responsible for autonomously guiding the upper stage after stage separation.
My understanding is that the Atlas rocket itself didn't have a digital guidance computer, and its flight path was controlled by tape when no ground based guidance was available. When mated with the Agena upper stage, the Burroughs guidance computer in the upper stage took over this task from the tape based system, and was responsible for autonomously guiding the upper stage after stage separation.