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Margaret Hamilton, whose software helped land Apollo astronauts on the moon, has died
Hamilton led the Apollo software team that helped NASA land astronauts on the moon and later founded two software companies.
- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology confirmed on October 8 the death of Margaret Hamilton, the pioneering software engineer who led Apollo missions' on-board flight software development. She was 90 and died on September 30; the cause was not disclosed.
- Hamilton joined the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory in 1965 and led a team of 100 engineers designing guidance software for NASA's Apollo missions, work that established her as a founder of the professional field of 'software engineering.'
- During the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, Hamilton's software overrode an errant radar command three minutes before landing, an intervention NASA said "permitted the mission to safely continue." She also introduced a failsafe called "the Lauren error."
- In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to science, recognizing earlier honors including NASA's 2003 Exceptional Space Act Award.
- Draper Laboratory CEO Jerry Wohletz said Hamilton left an "indelible mark" through her leadership, helping ensure Apollo astronauts landed safely and returned home, cementing her legacy as a foundational figure in space exploration.
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At the age of 90, U.S. scientist Margaret Hamilton died. She was crucially involved in NASA's Apollo moon program and was considered a pioneer in computer science.
·Germany
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The Toronto Star+4 Reposted by 4 other sources
Margaret Hamilton, who led a software team for NASA’s Apollo program, dies at 90
Margaret Hamilton, a groundbreaking computer scientist who led the team that created the onboard flight software for NASA’s moon-bound Apollo program and later in life was celebrated as a powerful symbol of women in technology, has died. She was 90.
·Toronto, Canada
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Margaret Hamilton, who led a software team for NASA's Apollo prog
Margaret Hamilton, a groundbreaking computer scientist who led the team that created the onboard flight software for NASA’s moon-bound Apollo program and later in life was celebrated as a powerful symbol of women in technology, has died.
·Baltimore, United States
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Leaning Left46Leaning Right32Center85Last UpdatedBias Distribution52% Center
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52% Center
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C 52%
R 20%
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