Programming pioneer Margaret Hamilton dies — The Guardian
Computer technology pioneer Margaret Hamilton, who led the development of software for the Apollo 11 lunar mission, has died. She was 90. Hamilton's death, which occurred on September 30, was reported by The Guardian, citing the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Work for Apollo 11
Hamilton learned programming under the guidance of a renowned meteorologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Later, in the institute's laboratory, she wrote software capable of detecting enemy aircraft.
When the institute received a NASA contract to create onboard software for the Apollo program, she joined the project. In 2019, Hamilton told The Guardian that she was the first programmer to join the team, as well as the first woman hired for the job.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Alarm before landing
In 1969, minutes before Apollo 11's historic landing on the Moon's surface, the onboard computer issued an alarm. The question arose whether to abort the mission, but the flight continued.
According to Hamilton, the software not only signaled a hardware-related problem but also compensated for it: it restarted operations and resumed the execution of the highest-priority tasks. In 2016, US President Barack Obama mentioned this episode when presenting Hamilton with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hamilton is survived by her daughter, son-in-law, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
