RIP: NASA Software Engineer Margaret Hamilton

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Margaret Hamilton at MIT. (NASA)

Late last month, Margaret Hamilton passed away at the age of 90. She will always be remembered as the software engineer who was instrumental in the development of the flight software for NASA’s Apollo program. As a NASA contractor from the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, she led a team of 100 engineers. Her work in this area helped to establish software engineering as a dedicated discipline

Olivier de Weck, the Apollo Program Professor and interim head of the MIT Department Aeronautics and Astronautics, later stated:

The Apollo program still stands as one of our greatest testaments to the power of collaboration, ingenuity, and engineering, and Margaret Hamilton was a fundamental contributor to that program’s success. And for her that was just the beginning! She went on to become an entrepreneur and remained on the cutting edge of systems software throughout an extraordinary career, while acting as an advocate, mentor, and inspiration to millions.

You can read more on Ms. Hamilton’s life and career at these sites:

MIT
CNN
The New York Times

Rest in peace.

A Day in Astronomy: The First U.S. Spacewalk

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA astronaut Ed White during the Gemini 4 mission on June 3, 1965. (NASA)

On this day in 1965, U.S astronaut Edward H. White became the first American to conduct a spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission. His 23 minute mission lasted from his exit from the capsule over the Pacific to his return while over the Gulf of Mexico. He used a maneuvering gun to push himself away from the capsule as well as to push himself back.

At the end of his spacewalk, Ed White stated:

I’m coming back in… and it’s the saddest moment of my life.

Ed White later died in the launchpad explosion of Apollo 1 in 1967, along with astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom and Roger B. Chaffee.

An Apollo 1 crew memorial is located at Arlington National Cemetery (shown below) with the inscription, “Ad Astra per Aspera,” which in Latin means, “A rough road leads to the stars.”

Image (Credit): The Apollo 1 crew memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. (Arlington National Cemetery)

RIP: June Lockhart, Actress

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): June Lockhart in the television series Lost in Space. (20th Century Fox Television)

Actress June Lockhart passed away last Thursday at the age of 100. She had a storied career in both movies and television, including the 1960s television shows Lassie and Lost in Space.

Lost in Space was a somewhat silly story about the Robinson family migrating from an overpopulated Earth to a exoplanet orbiting Alpha Centauri. Of course, just like the story in Gilligan’s Island, the five-and-a-half year tour turned into a new adventure among the stars.

The show was best known for the robot always spouting “Danger, Will Robinson!” in reference to the son whose mother was played by June Lockhart. Of course, Star Trek premiered during that same period with some of the same silliness. It seems we did not achieve our darker sentiments about humans in space until somewhat later.

With regard to her time with Lost in Space, Ms. Lockhart stated to Fox News:

I was over the moon – pun intended. … I have been told that my contribution inspired many astronauts to pursue a career in space science and exploration … it is lovely to know that I touched so many people by doing things that interested me!

The 1998 movie Lost in Space did little to revive interest in the series (or space from what I can tell), but the Neflix television series of the same name did a nice job bringing the Robinson family back to life. If you are looking for a great updated adventure story about a boy and his robot traveling through space, you might want to start with the Netflix version.

You can read more on Ms. Lockhart’s life and career at these sites:

BBC
CBS News
The New York Times

Rest in peace.

Image (Credit): Poster for the 1998 movie Lost in Space. (New Line Cinema)
Image (Credit): Poster for the 2018 television series Lost in Space. (Netflix)

RIP: Jim Lovell, Apollo Astronaut

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA astronaut Jim Lovell. (NASA)

Last Thursday, former NASA astronaut Jim Lovell passed away at the age of 97. Mr. Lovell was one of the first astronauts to orbit the Moon in Apollo 8, and he also commanded the Apollo 13 mission around the Moon under great stress after the onboard explosion of an oxygen canister. While the crew was unable to complete its mission by landing on the Moon, he was able to safely bring his crew back to Earth.

In commenting on the Apollo 13 mission, Mr. Lovell later said ““It was plagued by bad omens and bad luck from the very beginning.” Even so, he was part of a long tradition of trial and error as the U.S. stretched itself and eventually ferried men and supplies to the lunar surface. The deaths of three astronauts in the Apollo 1 capsule had shown the world that a mission to the Moon was a dangerous gamble.

Mr. Lovell took his chances and we are all the better for it. He also stated:

There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.

He made things happen.

You can read more on Mr. Lovell’s life and career at these sites:

NASA
BBC
The New York Times

Rest in peace.

RIP: Ed Smylie, NASA Engineer

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Former NASA engineer Ed Smylie. (Bill Stafford/NASA)

Last month, former NASA engineer Ed Smylie passed away at the age of 95. He is best known for his efforts leading a NASA team that saved the Apollo 13 crew after the capsule experienced the onboard explosion of an oxygen canister. His quick efforts saved the crew, allowing them to return home safely. You can see it all in color by watching the film Apollo 13.

Mr. Smylie left Douglas Aircraft Company and joined NASA after President Kennedy made it clear that the nation would put a man on the Moon. Luckily, he was there at NASA when he was needed.

In a 1999 interview about his efforts to save the Apollo 13 mission, he was very self-effacing about his role in the entire effort:

It was pretty straightforward, even though we got a lot of publicity for it and [President Richard M.] Nixon even mentioned our names. I always argued that that was because that was one you could understand nobody really understood the hard things they were doing. Everybody could understand a filter. I said a mechanical engineering sophomore in college could have come up with it. It was pretty straightforward. But it was important.

You can also read more on Mr. Smylie’s life and career at these sites:

Rest in peace.