A computer scientist who created the on board flight software for NASA's Apollo spacecraft and an actor who famously portrayed an astronaut whose life relied on that programming were among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented Tuesday (Nov. 22) at the White House.
President Barack Obama bestowed the medal, the United States' highest civilian honor, to Margaret H. Hamilton and Tom Hanks, among a diverse group of 19 other recipients, including basketball players Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, actors Robert De Niro and Robert Redford, comedian Ellen DeGeneres, and singers Diana Ross and Bruce Springsteen.
Glint Member
Posts: 1040 From: New Windsor, Maryland USA Registered: Jan 2004
posted 11-23-2016 01:43 PM
It's great to see Margaret Hamilton being honored for her great contribution to American space exploration whose engineering feats of software development enabled humans to set foot on the moon. It was a significant role and her effort and dedication directly benefited the U.S.
rgarner Member
Posts: 1193 From: Shepperton, United Kingdom Registered: Mar 2012
posted 11-23-2016 02:09 PM
About time too.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-24-2016 07:59 AM
Tom Hanks was interviewed by FOX 10 Phoenix after the ceremony and remarked about Margaret Hamilton:
Getting to know Margaret Hamilton right there, when she told me that, she's talking about the Apollo days and she said she got pulled out of bed at 2:30 in the morning during Apollo 13. And I'm kicking myself, because had I known that particular story it would have been in the movie, in the miniseries, and I'd probably still be writing about it.
Wehaveliftoff Member
Posts: 2343 From: Registered: Aug 2001
posted 11-30-2016 10:53 PM
I did a double take because Mr. Hanks started his illustrious acting career in earnest in Cleveland, Ohio, where actress Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch of the West of "Oz") spent much of her life.
posted 11-22-2016 03:45 PM
advertisement