Margaret Hamilton: Hero of the Eagle

This Women’s History Month, Capitol Tech is celebrating by honoring Margaret Hamilton, a NASA programmer who played an integral part in the successful 1969 mission of the Eagle.

Hamilton, born in 1936 in Paoli, Indiana, led the team of software developers in charge of ensuring the Eagle’s success. According to Museums Correspondent Alice George of smithsonianmag.com, “[A]s the lunar module, Eagle, was approaching the moon’s surface, its computers began flashing warning messages… but with high confidence in the software developed by Margaret Hamilton and her team, they told the astronauts to proceed.

“The software, which allowed the computer to recognize error messages and ignore low-priority tasks, continued to guide astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin over the crater-pocked, dusty crust of the moon to their landing.”

Were it not for Hamilton’s ingenuity in a time when programming was in its infancy, the mission likely would have failed. In that day and age, “The astronauts had access to only 72 kilobytes of computer memory (a 64-gigabyte cell phone today carries almost a million times more storage space).” Hamilton’s software managed to make up for the hardware error: an improperly set rendezvous radar, letting the Eagle land with just enough fuel.

When Hamilton and her team took charge of the Eagle’s programming, the job was largely considered akin to stenography. “[T]he process of writing code began on large sheets of paper. A keypunch operator would create holes in paper cards, keying the codes into what were called punch cards… When the computer’s output identified no problems, software engineers would ‘eyeball’ the listings, verifying that no issues required attention…

“Once everything looked good, the code was sent to a Raytheon factory, where mostly women… wove copper wires and magnetic cores into a long ‘rope’ of wire. With coding written in ones and zeroes, the wire went through the tiny magnetic core when it represented a one, and it went around the core when it represented a zero. This ingenious process created a rope that carried software instructions.”

Hamilton became known as the “Rope Mother,” and while the woman who popularized the term “software engineering” was held with much respect within her profession, she and many of her coworkers were not well-represented in media due to the “girlishness” perception of their jobs. Thankfully, with observances such as Women's History Month, Hamilton and other brilliant women in STEM are able to have their stories told.

This Women’s History Month, take the time to learn about Hamilton’s life and work, and see what you can discover about the other women who helped in the success of the Eagle.

Capitol Tech offers many opportunities in aviation and astronautical sciences, where you can pursue careers in the management, safety, and progression of aeronautics and software engineering just like Hamilton. To learn more about these programs, visit captechu.edu and peruse the various courses and degrees offered. Many courses are available both on campus and online. For more information, contact admissions@captechu.edu.