She postponed her phd in abstract math when offered the opportunity to work on nasas apollo program. She was director of the software engineering division of the mit instrumentation laboratory, which developed onboard flight software for the apollo space program. How history obscured the legacy of margaret hamilton. The apollo program, known as project apollo was the third united states human spaceflight program carried out by the nasa, which accomplished landing the first humans on the moon from 1969 to 1972. Margaret hamilton, software programmer for apollo 11, has been awarded the presidential medal of freedom for for her pun incoming. Margaret was still considered a beginner programmer when she started work on the apollo program. Margaret hamilton was the lead software engineer of the apollo project. Margaret hamilton awarded presidential medal of freedom nasa.
She had smaller dreams, but the apollo space program came along. Wired her code got humans on the moonand invented software itself. If you have ever flown on an airplane, you probably know some of the flight was managed by computers. Margaret hamilton has a long list of accomplishments. Coldewey writes that hamilton is an inspiring figure for anyone looking to enter the fields. I was a young kid, and i was hired by dan lickly over here pointing to dan. Margaret hamilton was the lead software engineer for project apollo. Margaret hamilton was only 24 years old with an undergraduate degree in mathematics when she got a job as a programmer at mit. Profile of margaret hamilton, programmer of the apollo. Her efforts on the sage project were also what made margaret hamilton the obvious candidate for the position at nasa as the lead developer for apollo flight software. About margaret hamilton nasa office of logic design. Women like margaret hamilton, who, beginning in 1961, helped nasa develop the apollo programs guidance system that took u. She has on a black dress with a wavy striped design.
Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer of the apollo project, stands next to the code she wrote by hand and that was used to take humanity to the moon. Techcrunch reporter devin coldewey writes that margaret hamilton, a computing pioneer who led the development of the apollo programs onboard flight software during her time at mit, has been named a recipient of the presidential medal of freedom. Patches shop nasa the gift shop at nasa johnson space. The first flight was apollo 7, october 27, 1961 and the. As you might expect, she was given a very low priority task. There originaly is only 12 patches for 17 missions because patches were only made for manned flights.
Apollo 1 apollo 7 apollo 8 apollo 9 apollo 10 apollo 11 apollo 12 apollo apollo 14 apollo 15 apollo 16. A few years after graduating from earlham college with a ba in mathematics, margaret hamilton soon found herself in charge of software development and production for the apollo missions to the moon at the mit instrumentation laboratory. Hamiltons code was good so good, in fact, that it very well might have saved the entire apollo 11 mission. See more ideas about apollo, apollo space program and apollo missions. Jul 20, 2017 a new kids book profiles margaret hamilton, a programmer for nasa whose work made the apollo 11 moon landing possible.
Hamilton and her team developed was truly a pioneering effort, said nasa administrator sean okeefe. She was a pioneer when it came to development of software engineering, says teasel muirharmony, a curator at the national air and space museum, and a pioneer as a woman in the workplace contributing to this. When i first got involved in apollo, i was coming off the sage project for the lincoln labs. One such woman was margaret hamilton, who worked on every manned apollo mission, and several unmanned ones. Margaret hamilton, programmer kids, code, and computer. Margaret hamilton with her code, lead software engineer.
Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer of the apollo. She was director of the software engineering division of the mit instrumentation laboratory, which developed onboard flight software for nasa s apollo program. And so just as she was about to resume her postgraduate study of abstract maths, and possibly put her programming skills to one side, margaret hamilton changed her plans. The rope mother margaret hamilton national air and space. Thad roberts was a former intern at nasa, who served a 6year sentence in a federal prison after having sex with his girlfriend on a bed full of stolen moon rocks gathered from the apollo 11 moon landing mission. Apr 10, 2018 margaret was still considered a beginner programmer when she started work on the apollo program. Margaret hamilton, nee margaret heafield, born august 17, 1936, paoli, indiana, u. Dec 08, 2014 margaret hamilton, lead software engineer, project apollo. Writing for smithsonian, alice george highlights margaret hamilton s work leading the team at the mit instrumentation lab that developed the software for the apollo 11 mission. The apollo 11 moon landing was one of the most memorable moments of 20thcentury history, and margaret hamilton s code made it possible. The apollo 11 moon landing was one of the most memorable moments of 20thcentury history, and margaret hamiltons code made it possible. Apollo code developer margaret hamilton receives presidential.
She helped write the computer code for the command and lunar modules used on the apollo missions to the moon in. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. She was director of the software engineering division 2 of the mit instrumentation laboratory, which developed onboard flight software for apollo. Margaret hamilton as hamiltons career got under way, the software world was on the verge of a giant leap, thanks to the apollo program launched by john f. She is a computer scientist, a systems engineer, and even a business owner. Her code got humans on the moonand invented software itself. Apollo guidance computer history project first conference july 27, 2001. Its easy to forget now, when weve come so far, where now marriage is equal under the law, just how much courage was required for ellen to come out on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago. For her work during this period, hamilton has been credited with popularizing the. Hamilton is a computer scientist who was instrumental to nasas efforts to land humans on the moon in the 1960s and 1970s. She later founded two software companieshigher order software in 1976 and hamilton technologies in 1986, both. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. Margaret elaine heafield hamilton is a computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner.
Apollo 11 facts 30 interesting facts about apollo 11. Apollo program patches are on sale at the space store now. In 1986, margaret hamilton was awarded the ada lovelace award by the association for women in computing. Margaret hamilton, software programmer who got apollo 11 on. A new kids book profiles margaret hamilton, a programmer for nasa whose work made the apollo 11 moon landing possible. Her work was critical to the success of the six voyages to the moon between 1969 and 1972. It said it was margaret hamilton, apollo program, but it didnt say who margaret hamilton was. The agc code has been available to the public for quite a whileit was first uploaded by tech researcher ron burkey in 2003, after hed transcribed it from scanned images of. Jan 12, 2017 the apollo 11 moon landing was one of the most memorable moments of 20thcentury history, and margaret hamilton s code made it possible. You must not wonder very much because its been wellcovered in the news. Once the code was solid, it would be shipped off to a nearby raytheon facility where a group of women, expert seamstresses known to the apollo program as the little old ladies, threaded copper wires through magnetic rings a wire going through a core was a 1. See more ideas about margaret hamilton, wizard of oz and wizard of oz 1939. In a maledominated field, hamilton became known as the rope.
Margaret hamilton with her code, lead software engineer, project apollo 1969. Margaret hamilton, founder and ceo of hamilton technologies, inc. Meet margaret hamilton, who laid the steps of computer code. With the astronauts onboard, apollo 11 left the earth and was heading towards the moon. Margaret hamilton, who wrote apollo spacecraft guidance software, awarded presidential medal of freedom. The space store has the nasa apollo mission patches, from the official nasa patch vendor. Margaret heafield hamilton born august 17, 1936 is an american computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner. After apollo, hamilton also worked on skylab the united states first space station and some of the preliminary system software requirements for the space shuttles flight software, though.
The untold story of the woman who took us to the moon. It said it was margaret hamilton, apollo program, but it didnt say who. Aug 19, 2016 named as apollo 8 and apollo 10, launched in 1968 and 1969 respectively, the two spacecrafts orbited around the moon and returned safely to the earth. Named as apollo 8 and apollo 10, launched in 1968 and 1969 respectively, the two spacecrafts orbited around the moon and returned safely to the earth. A new playset from lego will honor four key women in nasa historyastronomer nancy grace roman, computer scientist margaret hamilton, and pioneering astronauts sally ride and mae jemison. A new lego set honors the women of nasaand it looks pretty. Margaret hamilton, apollo software engineer, awarded. Writing for smithsonian, alice george highlights margaret hamiltons work leading the team at the mit instrumentation lab that developed the software for the apollo 11 mission. Margaret hamilton was a lead software designer who developed the onboard flight software for the apollo missions. It was both a relief and a wonderful feeling as soon as the landing on the moon and splashdown took place. She was director of the software engineering division of the mit instrumentation laboratory, which developed onboard flight software for nasas apollo program. Apollo 11 was the most memorable of all of my memorable experiences. Half a century ago, mit played a critical role in the development of the flight software for nasas apollo program, which landed humans on the moon for the first time in 1969. She was a pioneer when it came to development of software engineering, says teasel muirharmony, a curator at the national air and space museum, and a pioneer.
Margaret hamilton led the team that developed this new software. View the profiles of people named margaret hamilton. Mar 11, 2016 a few years after graduating from earlham college with a ba in mathematics, margaret hamilton soon found herself in charge of software development and production for the apollo missions to the moon at the mit instrumentation laboratory. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer, project apollo. On 20th july 1969, the big day for nasa, mit, and margaret hamilton had finally arrived. Before nasa selected their first class of female astronauts in 1979, hamilton was working hard at mit to make the apollo missions possible. For her work, she was honored with the presidential medal of. This is a great photo i just ran across on the internets. Margaret hamilton, leader of the team that developed the flight software for the agencys apollo missions, has been granted a nasa exceptional space act award for her scientific and technical contributions. You also may have heard airbus recently acknowledged the crash of a spanish a400 plane was caused by faulty software configuration of the engines. For her work during this period, hamilton has been credited with popularizing the concept of software engineering.
Is this a photo of margaret hamilton standing next to apollo. You also may have heard airbus recently acknowledged the crash of a spanish a400 plane was. Margaret hamilton was a participant in agc project conference 1 and conference 2. Join facebook to connect with margaret hamilton and others you may know.
Half a century ago, mit played a critical role in the development of the flight software for nasas apollo program, which landed humans on the moon for the first time in. In a maledominated field, hamilton became known as. Margaret heafield hamilton margaret hamilton born august 17, 1936 1 is a computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner. When apollo 11 landed on the moon, it only had about 25 seconds of fuel left. Each one is detailed vector reproduction of original patch designed for this pioneer space program in years 19671972. View the profiles of professionals named margaret hamilton on linkedin. In 1960 when she was just 24 years old, hamilton got a job as a programmer at mit to support her. You can learn to code at our coding bootcamp in the denver area. Margaret hamilton s apollo code a brief history of the famous 1969 photo of the software that sent humans to the moon. Nov 17, 2016 techcrunch reporter devin coldewey writes that margaret hamilton, a computing pioneer who led the development of the apollo programs onboard flight software during her time at mit, has been named a recipient of the presidential medal of freedom. Aug 17, 2016 writing for smithsonian, alice george highlights margaret hamiltons work leading the team at the mit instrumentation lab that developed the software for the apollo 11 mission. Margaret hamiltons introduction for apollo guidance computer history project. Margaret hamilton takes software engineering to the moon and. Nasa astronauts sally ride and mae jemison, astronomer nancy grace roman and computer scientist margaret hamilton are celebrated for their contributions to space exploration and astronomy in the new lego ideas set, women of nasa.