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Margaret Hamilton, Apollo Software Pioneer, Dies at 90

Margaret Hamilton, a computer scientist who led the software engineering team for NASA's Apollo program, has died at 90. Her work established software engineering as a discipline and earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Hamilton, who worked at MIT from 1959-1970s, authored over 130 publications and later became a computing entrepreneur. Her software architecture was crucial for Apollo missions, including the moon landing.

She began at MIT on weather prediction software and later the SAGE air defense system, developing an interest in software reliability.

In 1965, Hamilton joined MIT's Instrumentation Lab for Apollo software. She was the first programmer and led the team for on-board flight software.

Hamilton's team engineered priority-driven software that handled system overloads, notably during Apollo 11's moon landing when the computer had a 1202 error. This allowed the mission to proceed.

After Apollo, Hamilton continued at Draper Laboratory. She founded two software companies, Higher Order Software and Hamilton Technologies, focusing on error prevention.

Hamilton advocated for software engineering's recognition as a distinct discipline. She received numerous awards, including the NASA Exceptional Space Act Award.

Hamilton became an icon for women in STEM, with her work celebrated through initiatives like Apollo software on GitHub and a Lego Minifigure.

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