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Margaret Hamilton, whose software helped land Apollo astronauts on the moon, has died
Her code and leadership helped Apollo 11 land safely on the Moon, and she later popularized the term software engineering.
- 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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A trajectory marked by great milestones and advances for science
Computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, who conducted groundbreaking research that helped NASA astronauts land on the moon, has died at the age of 90. Hamilton's former employer, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), confirmed her death, adding that she died on September 30, the BBC reports.
·Vilnius, Lithuania
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Margaret Hamilton, Apollo software leader, dies at 90
Computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, who led the team behind the onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo program, died September 30 at a hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
·Missoula, United States
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Total News Sources352
Leaning Left55Leaning Right39Center116Last UpdatedBias Distribution55% Center
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources are Center
55% Center
L 26%
C 55%
R 19%
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