Margaret Hamilton, Apollo Software Pioneer, Dies at 90

devOct 8, 2026381,755

Margaret Hamilton, the MIT computer scientist who led development of the Apollo onboard flight software, died on September 30 at age 90, MIT announced. Hamilton learned to program under a noted MIT meteorologist and earlier wrote aircraft-detection software at an MIT laboratory before joining the Apollo project as the first programmer and first woman hired for the contract. Her team built error detection and recovery routines that, during the Apollo 11 landing, allowed the onboard computer to signal an alarm yet continue prioritizing and restarting critical tasks so the landing proceeded. Barack Obama cited that incident when he awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, saying the astronauts were fortunate to have her work. Hamilton described the Apollo effort as pioneering, telling MIT News in 2009 that they had no choice but to be pioneers. She is survived by her daughter, a son-in-law, two grandsons and four great-grandchildren.

Admirable Women

@admirablewomen.bsky.social

Thank you for leading the team that wrote the onboard software for the Apollo missions, guiding Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to a safe landing on the moon. Yours is an amazing legacy & everyone should know your name. Goodnight and godspeed, Margaret Hamilton. 🕯️

774Yesterday

Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth4

She wrote the code that carried men to the moon and back, and no one whispered her name. The rest of us clawed at shadows; she simply built the light.

Concerned Citizen3

That's right, A WOMAN PUT MEN ON THE MOON.

Quoting this

WomanAstro4

Just heard the news. I'm so sad. She was definitely a #WomanAstro extraordinaire. 🔭🧪🚀 #WomeninSTEM #WomeninScience

wavedeva4

#MargaretHamiilton #ApolloMissions #SpaceTravel #NASA #MIT #WomensHistory #STEM #WomenInSTEM

PGincville2

Margaret Hamilton is her name.

Patrick Barlow2

An amazing woman. Tbh, I’ve not met many who aren’t.

PBS News

@pbsnews.org

Margaret Hamilton, a computer scientist who helped NASA land on the moon, has died. She was 90.

234Yesterday

That Other Dude1

Thankfully, @poppynorthcutt.bsky.social , Frances "Poppy" Northcut, the first woman to serve as an engineer at Mission Control, is still with us. After leaving NASA, she got a law degree and became a tireless force for women's issues, changing the culture in Houston and beyond.

Quoting this

That Ryan Guy, no, the other one.3

Oh shit.. daaaaamn. She was /legendary/ in SOOO many ways.

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans

@astroroyalscot.bsky.social

Fab story from Margaret Hamilton, RIP, showing why Science-Mums are brilliant scientists! When innovating at the cutting edge of technology, it's so important to bring together a wide range of lived experiences. Sad that only ~20% comp-scientists are female 👩‍🔬🧪 ℹ️: www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Right: A woman looking very cool in a 70's dress standing next to a massive pile of very thick books
Left text: Did your life as a software engineer and a mother ever collide?
Often in the evening or at weekends I would bring my young daughter, Lauren, into work with me. One day, she was with me when I was doing a simulation of a mission to the moon. She liked to imitate me – playing astronaut. She started hitting keys and all of a sudden, the simulation started. Then she pressed other keys and the simulation crashed. She had selected a program which was supposed to be run prior to launch – when she was already “on the way” to the moon. The computer had so little space, it had wiped the navigation data taking her to the moon. I thought: my God – this could inadvertently happen in a real mission. I suggested a program change to prevent a prelaunch program being selected during flight. But the higher-ups at MIT and Nasa said the astronauts were too well trained to make such a mistake. Midcourse on the very next mission – Apollo 8 – one of the astronauts on board accidentally did exactly what Lauren had done. The Lauren bug! It created much havoc and required the mission to be reconfigured. After that, they let me put the program change in, all right.

138Yesterday

Quoting this

madopal3

Software version of infrastructure beats policy

Humanists UK

@humanists.uk

She wrote all that code by hand and it landed on the moon. Such an iconic photo. Here’s to Margaret Hamilton (1936–2026). What an incredible and pioneering woman for science. An inspiration to us all. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

114Yesterday

Humanists UK20

In 1969, the software that landed humans on the moon was written by a team led by Margaret Hamilton. When the computer overloaded minutes before touchdown, her code kept the mission alive.

19thnews

@19thnews.org

Margaret Hamilton, the software engineer whose team developed the onboard flight software for the Apollo space missions, died on September 30. She was 90. https://bit.ly/4hBWiL5

A person stands smiling, holding a large, stacked pile of paper as tall as them, representing software code, next to a chalkboard. Text below reads: " 1936–2026 Margaret Hamilton, who coined ‘software engineering’ and helped NASA land on the moon, has died. In 2016, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her pioneering work."

52Yesterday

Unassuming Local Guy

@bionicslingshot.bsky.social

Saw several posts about the death of Margaret Hamilton this morning, and for a brief time I thought I was utterly losing my mind since the computer scientist was not the person that immediately sprang to mind. And the person who did spring to mind would have been 123 years old were she still alive.

American actress Margaret Brainard Hamilton in costume for her role as the Wicked Witch in the film The Wizard of Oz.

74Yesterday

Alex3

Ok SAME! but I was a little gay boy whose favourite book when I was 3 or 4 was the Making of the Wizard of Oz book my great grandfather got me, complete with pictures of screen tests and behind the scenes lore.

Matt 🌃3

I did that too 😭

Marbic 🔜 MFF20262

Anytime I see that picture now, all I can think of is the painful makeup she endured for that movie.

Dan51192

Ha...yes, she is still dead!

Rocketgirl 🚀

@rocketgrrl.bsky.social

R.I.P. Margaret Hamilton, the visionary mathematician and computer scientist whose software helped guide Apollo astronauts to the Moon. A pioneer who helped create the field of software engineering, her impact on science and space exploration will never be forgotten.

44Yesterday

Pamorama 🇨🇦🐶💪🏕🇨🇦

@pamorama.bsky.social

"Margaret Hamilton, trailblazer whose software powered Apollo 11 moon landing, dies at 90. MIT computer scientist led development of software for moon mission and earned Presidential Medal of Freedom." #SheShed

27Yesterday

Making a free cycling game

@dfeldman.org

In honor of Margaret Hamilton, you can play with a browser emulation of the Apollo computer here svtsim.com/moonjs/agc.h...

30Yesterday

Cailín Walsh 🍀

@cailin.dev

Margaret Hamilton is a legit inspiration and a true legend. RIP.

37Yesterday

brownsheila565.bsky.social

@brownsheila565.bsky.social

The Woman Whose Software Guided the Apollo Missions Has Died www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/o...

24Yesterday

Plouf de Phoque

@phoque.ing

Management blocking safeguards has been a Software Engineering issue since Software Enginerring has been a thing. (Margaret Hamilton was a foundational figure of SWE.)

23Yesterday

Alexander Howard

@digiphile.bsky.social

RIP, Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer & great American. Her seminal work left a dent in the universe, creating a field & our futures. 🇺🇸🚀🌕 “Her software architecture led to giant leaps for humankind, writing the code that helped America set foot on the moon.”— @barackobama.bsky.social

21Yesterday

Guy ruining Steely Dan for everyone else

@artbrovera.bsky.social

This picture of Margaret Hamilton next to her Appolo 11 code is one of my favorite science photos because it literally brings what took us to the moon to a human scale, and we dont need to use snake oil and magic sales pitches to say "we can do this" RIP

14Yesterday

Kelly Hereid

@kellyhereid.bsky.social

Context for this story: As noted in the piece, her mother was hired and trained by Margaret Hamilton, who also coded early chaos work with Lorenz. Yes, that Margaret Hamilton.

22Yesterday

3 sources

theguardian.comMargaret Hamilton, trailblazer whose software powered Apollo 11 moon landing, dies at 90 nytimes.comMargaret Hamilton, Whose Software Guided the Apollo Missions, Has Died cnn.comMargaret Hamilton, whose software helped land Apollo astronauts on the moon, has died | CNN

Margaret Hamilton, Apollo Software Pioneer, Dies at 90dev

Margaret Hamilton, Apollo Software Pioneer, Dies at 90

Related