Margaret Hamilton, NASA software pioneer behind Apollo Moon mission, dies at 90

American scientist Margaret Hamilton who led development of the computer system used by NASAs Apollo lunar program has died at the age of 90 her former employer said WednesdayIn a statement the Massachusetts Institute of Technology called Hamilton who taught at the prestigious university from 1959 to the mid1970s a computing pioneer and said she died on September 30To say Margaret Hamilton was a pioneer to say she was ahead of her time would be a dramatic understatement said Olivier de Weck the Apollo Program Professor and interim head of the MIT Department of Aeronautics and AstronauticsShe was a software engineer at a time when that field was in its infancy and she not only developed advanced code herself but also led a team in using that nascent technology to develop one of the most complex systems humanity had ever achieved de Weck addedThe famed Apollo program allowed the United States to beat the Soviet Union in the race to become the first humans to land on the MoonNASA chief Jared Isaacman paid tribute to Hamilton on X calling her a pioneer whose work helped make Apollo and humanitys first journeys to the moon possibleBorn in Indiana in 1936 Hamilton studied mathematics before moving to Boston Massachusetts with her husband in 1959She found employment at MIT working in meteorology before she joined a lab in 1965 that was seeking people to develop software to send a man to the MoonHamilton was hired as the first programmer for the Apollo project at MIT as well as the first female programmer in the project the university saidBy 1968 she was assistant director in charge of Apollos Command and Service Module team and more than 400 people were working on Apollos software MIT saidPioneerHamilton was credited with making critical onboard systems more robust and accidentresistantHer software intervened approximately three minutes before the Eagle lander of the historic Apollo 11 mission touched down on the Moon overriding a faulty script and ensuring the mission could safely continue according to NASAJerry Wohletz CEO of the Draper Laboratory which was spun out of the MIT Instrumentation Lab said Hamilton left an indelible mark on the companyThrough her leadership and contributions to the development of the onboard flight software for NASAs Apollo Guidance Computer she helped ensure that Apollo astronauts landed safely on the lunar surface and safely returned home he saidWe will honor her legacy at Draper foreverHamilton was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former president Barack Obama in 2016 for her achievementsIn 2009 Hamilton told MIT News There was no second chance We knew that We took our work seriously many of us beginning this journey while still in our 20sComing up with solutions and new ideas was an adventure Dedication and commitment were a given Mutual respect was across the board Because software was a mystery a black box upper management gave us total freedom and trust Hamilton addedLooking back we were the luckiest people in the world there was no choice but to be pioneers she saidHamilton went on to publish more than 130 papers and started her own software companies Higher Order Software and Hamilton TechnologiesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever