The Badge Archive

Famous Women – Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton from GSUSA

When Margaret Hamilton was in her 30s, she worked at NASA, which works on space projects. Margaret led a team of scientists who wrote special computer programs. These programs helped track the speed and location of the space capsule, making sure it stayed on the right path.

A radar system was accidentally turned on three minutes before the astronauts were about to land on the moon during the Apollo 11 moon landing. This caused the computer to overload and sound an alarm.

Image created with Prome AI

Thanks to Margaret’s software, the computer ignored the radar and focused on landing the capsule safely. Because of her quick-thinking programs, the astronauts were able to land on the moon without any problems.

After her success with the Apollo missions, Margaret started her own company called Hamilton Technologies. She and her team work on creating new computer programs. In 2016, Margaret received a special award called the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her amazing work on the Apollo Moon missions.

Videos

GSUSA Law Line

“Margaret Hamilton is courageous and strong. Not only was she one of the few female employees at NASA in the 1960s, she advocated for the use of the term Software Engineer. It is now a respected career. She started her own company, twice! All of that takes courage and strength.” – Scout K, GSSJC, Juliette

Timeline

  • 1936 – Margaret Hamilton was born on August 17 in Paoli, Indiana.
  • 1958 – Margaret Hamilton graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. She studied mathematics and philosophy.
  • Early 1960s – Margaret Hamilton accepted a position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she started programming software to predict the weather and pursued postgraduate work in meteorology. She joined Lincoln Laboratory at MIT and worked on the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) project.
    Margaret Hamilton worked at MIT’s Instrumentation Laboratory (now the independent Charles Stark Draper Laboratory), where she developed aeronautical technology for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
  • Mid 1960s – Margaret Hamilton popularized the term “software engineering”. What she and her team were doing was just as important as the work the other engineers did on the Apollo spacecraft.
  • 1969 – As the Lunar Module Eagle approached the Moon’s surface on July 20, its computers began flashing warning messages. With high confidence in the software developed by Margaret Hamilton and her team, Mission Control instructed the astronauts to proceed, allowing humans to successfully land on the Moon despite hardware issues.
  • 1976 – Margaret Hamilton co-founded the company Higher Order Software (HOS) along with Saydean Zeldin. It focused on developing error detection and recovery software for high-reliability systems.
  • 1986 – Margaret Hamilton established Hamilton Technologies.
  • 2003 – Margaret Hamilton was honored with NASA’s Exceptional Space Act Award for her significant contributions to the Apollo missions.
  • 2016 – President Barack Obama awarded Margaret Hamilton the Medal of Freedom.

–

References

George, Alice. “Margaret Hamilton Led the NASA Software Team That Landed Astronauts on the Moon.” Smithsonian, Smithsonian.com, 14 Mar. 2019, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/margaret-hamilton-led-nasa-software-team-landed-astronauts-moon-180971575/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Margaret Hamilton | Biography & Facts.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 4 July 2019, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Hamilton-American-computer-scientist. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

–

For More Fun Ideas and Plans

for Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Scouts

Join the Girl Scout Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Leader Help Facebook Group
(Not an official GSUSA Group)

This is a supportive Facebook community for Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Girl Scout leaders. Whether you’re seeking advice, fresh ideas, or meeting plans, you’re in the right place! Let’s inspire each other, share our experiences, and make every troop meeting a memorable adventure.

for Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Scouts

Join the Girl Scout Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Leader Help Facebook Group
(Not an official GSUSA Group)

This is a supportive community for Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Girl Scout leaders. This group offers solutions to keep older scouts engaged in scouting amidst their busy lives. Share strategies, tackle challenges, and exchange ideas for fun, meaningful activities that resonate with teens and build lasting connections.

Find out how you can support The Badge Archive!

–

For more Historical and Notable Figures:

–

Tia Kennard