The Apollo Flight Guidance Computer Software Collection [Hamilton] consists of reports, memoranda, and related material documenting the Apollo flight guidance software developed by Margaret Hamilton's team at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The collection also includes Hamilton's 1986 handwritten notes on selected documents.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of reports, memoranda, and related material documenting the Apollo flight guidance software developed by Margaret Hamilton's team at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Documents include a printout from an Apollo guidance computer software simulation; software program change routing slips; reports from Apollo Guidance, Navigation, and Control (formerly Apollo Guidance and Navigation); a preliminary flight plan for Apollo 7; memoranda for the submission of MIT/IL Software Development Plan, critiquing each new official version of the flight system; guidance system documents using assorted programs, including Sundisk, Skylark, and Luminary; and an oversized Charles Stark Draper Laboratory brochure. When she donated the collection in 1986, Hamilton composed handwritten notes on the history of selected documents, which are included with each document and identified in the finding aid as "[Note from Margaret Hamilton]."
Arrangement:
The materials are arranged chronologically.
Biographical Note:
Margaret H. Hamilton (b. 1936) was the Director of Software Engineering Division at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was responsible for the onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo and Skylab missions. She became known as the "Rope Mother," an apt description for her role and referred to the unusual way that computer programs were stored on the Apollo guidance computers.
Hamilton received a BA in Mathematics from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and postponed her Ph.D. work when she was offered the opportunity to work on the Apollo project. She has published over 130 papers and reports on her areas of expertise in system design and software development. In 1986, she became the founder and CEO of Hamilton Technologies, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On November 22, 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution that led to Apollo 11's successful landing.
Rocketdyne Division, Rockwell International Search this
Materials:
Chamber and nozzle coolant passages 347 stainless steel. Propellant tanks, lines, and valves, stainless steel. Pumps, aluminum alloys; turbine, Hastealloy. Injector, OHFC copper and 347 stainless steel.
Combustion chamber made of 292 stainless steel tubes. The assembly, except for inlet manifold, was furnaced brazed with gold brazing alloy. Injectors, furnaced brazed.
Dessicant holders on each side of rocket plumbing, with red plastic protective covers; bundle of wires in white plastic isulation adjacent to red desicant holders; another bundle of wires with white plastic insulation, in back of plumbing,
Dimensions:
Overall: 5ft 3 1/2in. x 4ft 5 3/4in. x 8ft 4in. (161.3 x 136.5 x 254cm)
Type:
PROPULSION-Rocket Engines
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Date:
ca. 1959-1961
Credit Line:
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Rocketdyne Division, Rockwell International Search this
Materials:
Chamber and nozzle coolant passages: 347 stainless steel. Propellant tanks, lines, and valves: stainless steel. Pumps: aluminum alloys; turbine: Hastealloy. Injector: OHFC copper and 347 stainless steel.
Combustion chamber made of 292 stainless steel tubes. The assembly, except for inlet manifold, was furnaced brazed with gold brazing alloy. Injectors, furnaced brazed.
Dimensions:
Overall: 100 in. long x 47 in. diameter (254 x 119.38cm)
Type:
PROPULSION-Rocket Engines
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Date:
1963
Credit Line:
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Rocketdyne Division, Rockwell International Search this
Materials:
Chamber and nozzle coolant passages 347 stainless steel. Propellant tanks, lines, and valves, stainless steel. Pumps, aluminum alloys; turbine, Hastealloy. Injector, OHFC copper and 347 stainless steel.
Combustion chamber made of 292 stainless steel tubes. The assembly, except for inlet manifold, was furnaced brazed with gold brazing alloy. Injectors, furnaced brazed.
Dimensions:
Overall: 100 in. long x 47 in. diameter (254 x 119.38cm)
Type:
PROPULSION-Rocket Engines
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Date:
ca. 1958-1975
Credit Line:
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
This collection consists of fifty-three films made by North American Rockwell during Storms' association with the corporation. This collection also consists of a folder of biographical information on Storms and 213 slides, which include the following topics: Apollo projects; Soviet spacecraft at an unknown Soviet museum; and images of the Bell 47G helicopter.
Biographical / Historical:
Harrison A. Storms, Jr., (1915-1992) helped design Apollo spacecraft and many other aerospace vehicles. A former executive of Rockwell International and its predecessor company, North American Aviation, Storms made contributions to over 40 aircraft and space vehicles. Storms received his bachelor and masters degrees in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University, and an aeronautical engineering degree from the California Institute of Technology. Storms was then employed as an aeronautical researcher at North American Aviation in 1941 and during World War II contributed to the advancement of jet propulsion technology. After World War II, Storms served as Chief Engineer of the X-15 program, and also helped design the F-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre Jet, F-100 Super Sabre and the XB-70. Storms went on to become the President of North American's Space and Information Systems Division which won contracts for both the Saturn second stage launch vehicle and the Apollo command and service modules for the successful lunar landing program. Storms was the recipient of many honors and awards and a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Phyllis Storms, gift, 1999, 1999-0021, North American Rockwell?
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
![View Apollo Flight Guidance Computer Software Collection [Hamilton] digital asset: Finding aid](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=120&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/findingaid.gif "Finding aid")
