Today that title would probably be something along the line of lead software engineer margaret hamilton was born in rural indiana in 1936. If we look at a software engineers salary as a journey of many steps, at every step well see that where you are, what you do, what you value most, and when you join the company determines your salary according to recent research by startup compass. Problems began when the computer was overloaded with commands from the rendezvous radar and the landing system, requiring more processing power than the computer could handle. It said it was margaret hamilton, apollo program, but. Margaret hamilton is a computer scientist and systems engineer. Space engineer and scientist margaret hamilton stem trailblazer bios. Hamilton discusses joining nasa as their first software engineer. Indeed, margaret hamilton, renowned mathematician and computer science. Margaret went on to work on all of the manned, and several unmanned apollo missions, before leaving in the 70s.
A mathematician and pioneer of computer science, hamilton was a selftaught computer programmer working for the mit instrumentation laboratory when, under a contract from nasa, she became the lead software engineer on project apollo. Back then, software engineering was a relatively obscure profession and regarded by many as an art and as magic, not a. Paul curto, senior technologist who nominated hamilton for a nasa space act award, called hamiltons work the foundation for ultra reliable. Margaret hamilton joined mit to work on software projects including meteorological software for edward lorenz, father of chaos theory, and sage system software that searched for enemy airplanes before landing on the mitnasa contract as the lead programmer on the apollo guidance computer. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer of the apollo project, stands next to her code that took us to the moon. I like to think that my wifes professional career has given my kids. The pioneering software engineer who coded man to the moon.
Margaret heafield hamilton born august 17, 1936 is an american computer scientist, systems. Margaret hamilton, the woman behind the moon landing. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer, project apollo. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer for nasas apollo 11 mission there was no choice but to be pioneers. Margaret hamilton her code got humans on the moon our. Margaret hamilton computer scientist nasa solar system. Margaret paraschos quality assurance career manager. Mojave desert installation tribute to apollo engineer by. When margaret hamilton was a child, her father used to take her on long drives through michigans upper peninsula. 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.
Cambridge programmer awarded highest us honor the boston. Critics said it inflated her works importance, but today, when. Hamilton discusses joining nasa as their first software engineer and creating the software that launched the apollo 11 first manned mission to the moon. The work done by hamilton and others eventually helped lead to.
The software for the guidance computer was written by a team at the mit instrumentation laboratory now the draper laboratory, headed up by margaret. They would talk the whole time about philosophyrelated things, the. Margaret hamilton, who coined the term software engineer and was lead developer for the team that wrote the programs that landed men on the moon, turned 80 years old last week. Apollo 11 was able to land at all only because she designed the software robustly enough to handle buffer overflows and cyclestealing. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer of the apollo project, stands next to a. Hamilton wrote that at that time, computer science and software engineering were. Margaret hamiltons code took humans to the moon young. Hamilton was honored by nasa in 2003, when she was presented a special award recognizing the value of her innovations in the apollo software development. Is this a photo of margaret hamilton standing next to. She worked on every manned apollo mission as well as many unmanned missions.
But, as they say, behind every great man is a woman, and for armstrong that woman was margaret hamilton, the programmer who invented the software that made the moon landing possible, not to mention software itself. Hamilton, who popularized the term software engineering, took some chiding for it. The code that hamilton and her team wrote could prioritize and focus on more important tasks. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer of the apollo project, stands next to a huge stack of code written by her and her team, in 1969. Neil wouldnt have been able to take that step without margaret hamilton, the lead software engineer for project apollo. 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. The award included the largest financial award that nasa had ever presented to any individual up to that point.
When margaret hamilton was a child, her father used to take her on long. Margaret hamilton was the lead software engineer on the apollo program. Margaret hamilton wasnt supposed to invent the modern concept of. This is a great photo i just ran across on the internets. When it comes to margaret hamiltons career, she literally shoots for the moon. And hamilton stayed in the lab to lead an epic feat of engineering that. Women like margaret hamilton, who, beginning in 1961, helped nasa develop the apollo programs guidance system that took u. By relentlessly rooting out errors, the original software engineer helped send astronauts to the moon. Margaret hamilton wasnt supposed to invent the modern concept of software and land men on the moon. Margaret hamilton, nasas first software engineer youtube. Just before landing on the moon was the most exciting part, for some of us at least, margaret hamilton, lead developer for the apollo onboard flight software, said in a recent interview. 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. Thats what margaret hamilton has to say about her experience engineering software for nasa at mit massachusetts institute of technology in the 1960s.
Computer science and software engineering were not yet disciplines. For her work during this period, hamilton has been credited with popularizing the concept. Margaret hamilton, who wrote apollo spacecraft guidance software, awarded presidential medal of freedom. Margaret hamilton awarded presidential medal of freedom nasa. Her code got humans on the moonand invented software itself. Space engineer and scientist margaret hamilton stem. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer, project apollo medium this is a great photo i just ran across on the internets. She later founded two software companieshigher order software in 1976 and hamilton technologies in 1986, both.
By then, hamilton was the head of software engineering for the apollo program. Nearly fifty years ago, history was made when neil armstrong took his famous first small step on the surface of the moon. It was 1960, not a time when women were encouraged to. She was the director of the mit software engineering division that developed onboard software for the apollo space program, via wired. Hamilton, a computer programmer, would wind up leading the software engineering division of the mit instrumentation laboratory now draper. Paul curto, senior technologist who nominated hamilton for a nasa space act award, called hamiltons work the foundation for ultrareliable.
She was director of the software engineering division of the mit instrumentation laboratory, which developed onboard flight software for the apollo space program. The code of margaret hamilton that got humans to the moon. Margaret hamilton, leader of the team that developed the flight software for the agencys apollo missions. Margaret elaine heafield hamilton is a computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner.
As this medium article points out, the engineers werent. Margaret hamilton was the lead software engineer of the apollo project. As margaret herself said in one of her letters, it was the software that recognized the problem and took action, thus saving the mission and landing apollo 11 on the moons surface. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer of the apollo project. One of the many contributors to this effort was margaret hamilton, a computer scientist who led the software engineering division of the mit instrumentation laboratory, which in 1961 contracted with nasa to develop the apollo programs guidance system.
Her work at lincoln lab ensured her place as lead developer of nasas apollo flight software. Hamilton is a computer scientist who was instrumental to nasas efforts to land humans on the moon in the 1960s and 1970s. Margaret heafield hamilton is an american computer scientist, systems engineer. Her code got humans on the moonand invented software. Today, margaret hamilton is being honored again this time at the white house. Margaret hamilton in 1969 with the source code her team developed for the apollo missions. Margaret hamilton, apollo software engineer, awarded. Margaret hamilton is a pioneer for women in stem, and her teams software saved apollo 11s moon landing. As ceo of hamilton technologies, which she founded in 1986, she is still developing usl universal systems language which stems from her experience of the apollo program. Hamilton was the lead software engineer of the apollo program, though she is often overshadowed by more widely known participants, like astronauts buzz aldrin and neil armstrong. I remember thinking, oh my god, it worked, the pioneering software engineer tells time.
Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer, project apollo she was all of 31 when the apollo 11 lunar module landed on the moon, running her code. Margaret hamilton led the nasa software team that landed. Started at mit for the meteorology department to write weatherpredicting software. Google creates massivescale tribute to apollo 11 software.
People celebrated the world over, though few were more relieved than margaret hamilton. Margaret hamilton, lead apollo flight software engineer, in the apollo command module. Margaret hamilton, nee margaret heafield, born august 17, 1936, paoli, indiana, u. So when she worked herself into a position at nasa as the lead developer for apollo flight software there happened to be a pecking order to. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer, project apollo 485 points by adrianhoward on dec 11. Margaret hamilton was the lead software engineer for nasas project apollo and created the code that let apollo 11 land on the moon. Margaret hamilton takes software engineering to the moon.
She led the team that created the guidance computers that got the astronauts to the moon and back, a feat as difficult as creating the rockets themselves. Margaret paraschos software development test engineer sr, lead technologist at booz allen hamilton charleston, south carolina area 316 connections. Space engineer and scientist margaret hamilton stem trailblazer bios di piazza, domenica on. Photo celebrates unsung nasa software engineer margaret. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer of the apollo.
Science history imagesalamy stock photo did your life as a. Margaret hamilton, lead software engineer for nasas. Margaret hamilton, nasas lead software engineer for the apollo program, stands next to the code she wrote by hand that took humanity to the moon in 1969. It said it was margaret hamilton, apollo program, but it didnt say who. Hamilton started writing computer code at mit as a young working mother in 1960, the term software engineer did not exist, and programmers occupied the fringes of a nascent. Margaret hamilton lead software engineer apollo 11 timeline 1936. Margaret hamilton, nasas lead software engineer for the. It was 1960, not a time when women were encouraged to seek out highpowered technical work. She was director of the software engineering division of the mit instrumentation laboratory, which developed onboard flight software for nasas apollo program. Margaret heafield hamilton born august 17, 1936 is an american computer scientist, systems engineer and business owner. Margaret hamilton, lead apollo flight software engineer, in the apollo command module at nasa margaret hamilton wasnt supposed to invent the modern concept of software and land men on the moon. And margaret hamilton the software engineer wasnt hospitalized because of code catching fire and igniting her.
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