Margaret Hamilton, who directed the team that wrote the onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo missions, died on September 30, 2026, at age 90, MIT News reported. She died at a hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to phys.org; her daughter confirmed the death to news outlets.
Margaret Hamilton, the computer scientist who led software development for NASA's Apollo lunar missions at MIT's Instrumentation Laboratory, died on September 30, 2026, according to MIT News. She died at a hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, phys.org reported. She was 90.
Hamilton was born on August 17, 1936, in Paoli, Indiana, according to her Wikipedia biography. She earned a mathematics degree from Earlham College in 1958 and joined MIT in 1959, initially writing weather-prediction software before moving to the Apollo program in the mid-1960s, phys.org reported.
Role on Apollo
As director of the Software Engineering Division at MIT's Instrumentation Lab, Hamilton led the team that wrote the onboard flight software for the Apollo Guidance Computer, MIT News reported. By 1968 she served as assistant director in charge of the Command and Service Module software team, which grew to more than 400 people, according to phys.org.
Her team's error-detection and priority-scheduling software became central to the Apollo 11 landing on July 20, 1969. During the final descent, the guidance computer triggered program alarms minutes before touchdown; the system Hamilton's team had built discarded lower-priority tasks and kept the critical landing functions running, allowing the mission to proceed, according to MIT News.
We took our work seriously, many of us beginning this journey while still in our 20s. Coming up with solutions and new ideas was an adventure.
— Margaret Hamilton, quoted by phys.org
Hamilton is widely credited with coining the term "software engineering" to describe programming as a distinct engineering discipline, according to MIT News and her Wikipedia page.
Later career and recognition
After leaving the Instrumentation Lab in the 1970s, Hamilton founded two companies: Higher Order Software in 1976, and Hamilton Technologies about a decade later, according to MIT News. She authored more than 130 publications over her career, the university said.
In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, MIT News reported. She also received NASA's Exceptional Space Act Award in 2003 and was named a Computer History Museum Fellow in 2017; a Lego minifigure modeled on her was released the same year as part of a set honoring NASA women, according to phys.org.
MIT News reported that Hamilton is survived by her daughter, Lauren, son-in-law Richard Selesnick, two grandsons, four great-grandchildren, and siblings John, David and Kathryn.
What is not yet known
The specific cause of death was not disclosed in the MIT News or phys.org reports reviewed for this piece. No public funeral or memorial details had been announced in the coverage available at the time of writing.
Died: September 30, 2026, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Age: 90
Known for: Apollo Guidance Computer flight software; coined "software engineering"
Key honor: Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)
Questions
When did Margaret Hamilton die?
She died on September 30, 2026, at a hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at age 90, according to MIT News and phys.org.
What did Margaret Hamilton do for Apollo 11?
She directed the MIT team that wrote the onboard flight software for the Apollo Guidance Computer; her error-handling and task-prioritization code kept critical landing functions running when program alarms sounded during the final descent, per MIT News.
Did Margaret Hamilton coin the term 'software engineering'?
MIT News and her Wikipedia biography say she is widely credited with coining the term to establish programming as a formal engineering discipline.
What awards did Margaret Hamilton receive?
She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2016, NASA's Exceptional Space Act Award in 2003, and was named a Computer History Museum Fellow in 2017, according to MIT News and phys.org.
Who survives Margaret Hamilton?
MIT News reported she is survived by her daughter Lauren, son-in-law Richard Selesnick, two grandsons, four great-grandchildren, and siblings John, David and Kathryn.
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