What did Margaret Hamilton do at NASA?

Margaret Heafield Hamilton (born August 17, 1936) is an American computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner. She was director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed on-board flight software for NASA’s Apollo program.

How old was Margaret Hamilton when she worked with NASA?

As the landing occurred, Hamilton, then 32, was hooked up to Mission Control from MIT.

What did Margaret Hamilton discover?

Indeed, Margaret Hamilton, renowned mathematician and computer science pioneer, is credited with having coined the term software engineering while developing the guidance and navigation system for the Apollo spacecraft as head of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory.

Is Margaret Hamilton still alive?

Deceased (1902–1985)
Margaret Hamilton/Living or Deceased

Why do we celebrate Margaret Hamilton?

Margaret Hamilton, née Margaret Heafield, (born August 17, 1936, Paoli, Indiana, U.S.), American computer scientist who was one of the first computer software programmers; she created the term software engineer to describe her work.

What did Margaret Hamilton say about her work?

“She symbolises that generation of unsung women who helped send humankind into space,” said President Barack Obama in 2016 when he awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian award. …

How much was Margaret Hamilton paid for the Wizard of Oz?

Margaret Pellegrini, who portrayed one of the Munchkins in the film, said that she was paid $50 a week to work on Oz.

How did Hamilton software save missions?

Hamilton quickly worked her way through the ranks, soon becoming the lead developer for the on-board flight software for the Apollo Guidance Computer. Her commitment to error detection and prevention became legendary. “You had to be able to discover a system error in real time when you were flying on a mission.

What did Margaret Hamilton do for the Apollo program?

Margaret Hamilton’s Apollo Code. A brief history of the famous 1969 photo of the software that sent humans to the Moon. Half a century ago, MIT played a critical role in the development of the flight software for NASA’s Apollo program, which landed humans on the Moon for the first time in 1969.

Who is Margaret Hamilton and what did she do at MIT?

Hamilton, now an independent computer scientist, described for MIT News in 2009 her contributions to the Apollo software — which last month was added in its entirety to the code-sharing site GitHub:

Why was Margaret Hamilton important to software development?

Hamilton was concerned with legitimizing software development as an engineering discipline. Over time the term “software engineering” gained the same respect as any other technical discipline. The IEEE Software September/October 2018 issue celebrates the 50th anniversary of software engineering.

When did Margaret Hamilton move on to another project?

She moved on to another project in the summer of 1961, and hired and trained Ellen Fetter as her replacement.