Some people help write history. Margaret Hamilton helped write the software that got us there 🌖 Today we learned that Margaret Hamilton, one of the true pioneers of computing and software engineering, has passed away at the age of 90. Last year I made this video about the Apollo... Guidance Computer, and especially about Margaret and the incredible team she led at MIT. It feels appropriate to share it again tonight in her honor. During Apollo 11’s descent to the Moon, the Guidance Computer suddenly began throwing the now-famous 1201 and 1202 alarms. It was overloaded at one of the worst possible moments. But it didn’t simply crash. The software Hamilton and her team had designed recognized what was happening, discarded lower-priority work, and kept the tasks necessary to land the Lunar Module running. That wasn’t luck. That was engineering. Margaret helped pioneer ideas like fault-tolerant software, asynchronous processing and priority scheduling at a time when “software engineering” itself was barely recognized as a discipline. She fought to change that too. We remember the astronauts because they walked on the Moon. We should also remember the engineers who made sure the computers could get them there. Margaret Hamilton was one of the greatest. I am always deeply honored when someone tells me I resemble her, which is a regular occurrence ☺️ Rest in peace, Margaret. And thank you for helping humanity make one giant leap 🌙💻 Music Piano Pill (YouTube).show more

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT My favorite picture of her.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 🚀

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT Curious if you know… what language did they program in? Assume assembler? What CPU?

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT Hero, icon, trailblazer. She helped pave the way for mankind's giant leap. RIP Margaret Hamilton. The footprints on the Moon stand as a monument to your extraordinary life.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT I cannot like this post, but I like to remember Margaret Hamilton.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT You write like AI slop

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT You’re not very good at this. Don’t quit your day job 😂

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT It is easy for me to recognize common patterns like "It is not X, is Y" (That wasn’t luck. That was engineering.). But after your replied, I checked it online:

You ran my writing through a statistical classifier, got a confidence score, and somehow confused that with proof of authorship. That's an impressive misunderstanding of how the technology works, especially for someone trying to lecture others about AI 😂 Next time I'll be sure to run my writing through a lie detector, a polygraph app, and a Magic 8 Ball so we can get a proper peer-reviewed consensus.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT The dress is also a wonderful hommage. Thank you for honoring Margaret.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 🚀 Yes to Margaret Hamilton cosplay.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT the go-to line is always "the software got us there" like the hardware was just vibes

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT Nice tribute.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 😭

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT Margaret Hamilton and her team ARE space history.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT Great treasure there! RIP Margaret Hamilton!!🚀

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 🚀🚀

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT RIP 😞😭 wonderful tribute

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@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT For some reason I thought you died. My heart dropped. I was like damn, you never know what kinds of demons people deal with. She was always so positive about tech.

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 😆

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT RIP Margaret your among the stars now 🤲🏻🤲🏻

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT Rest in Peace. 🙏

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT Thank you for posting and sharing this beautiful tribute. I wasn’t aware that MH had passed away. And yes, you do resemble her strongly. I would love to see you cosplay her for Halloween! 👻 🚀 🌕 💜

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 🚀

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 🥹 one of my real heroes they hand weaved 1's and 0's into a computer so we could go to the moon incredible really

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 🚀

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 👍🏻 🇺🇸 🫡 👌🏻 ✨

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT 🙏🏼

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@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT A pioneer

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT ❤️ Margaret Hamilton (and all visible and hidden women in computing) ❤️

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT Uncanny resemblance

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT LEGEND. RIP, MH. ♥️

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@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT I hope she didn't die of dysentery

@NASA @NASAJohnson @MIT