Margaret Heafield Hamilton: The Woman Behind Apollo 11

46 years ago, mankind accomplished one unforgettable feat that has resonated for generations.  Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong’s famous quotes “The eagle has landed” and “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” was heard around the world.  The three astronauts inside that module, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and pilot Michael Collins had the privilege of being the first humans to land on the moon but behind this achievement were a lot of intelligent men and women crunching numbers, plotting courses, and solving problems thought to be unsolvable.

One such person is a woman by the name of Margaret Hatfield Hamilton, a computer scientist and systems engineer whose work literally made the lunar landing possible.  Several minutes before the actual landing alarms were triggered inside the lunar module because the computer system couldn’t handle all the data that was coming in at once.  Due to the way Hamilton and her team designed the software to be smart enough to recognize which functions should be performed first and leave the rest for later.  If the programming wasn’t built the way it was, the lunar landing might never have happened.  She is also credited with coining the term “software engineering.” 

DentalSave is highlighting female pioneers this month. Check back soon for more features. You can read more about Hamilton and her contributions here.