Some “Hidden Figures” were recently honored for their contributions to NASA. The group of Black women who played a pivotal role in the early successes of the U.S. space program were honored with the Congressional Gold Medal on Capitol Hill the week of Sept. 15.
House Speaker Mike Johnson led the ceremony, praising the women for stepping into fields and said, “At a time when our nation was divided by color and often by gender, these women dared to step into fields where they had previously been unwelcomed.”
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Johnson called their contributions the very foundation of NASA’s success in launching rockets and sending astronauts to the moon. These mathematicians and engineers played key roles in the early American space flights, calculating rocket trajectories and orbits.
Three of the women, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, were honored posthumously. The fourth woman honored, Christine Darden, was honored for her work as an aeronautical engineer. Darden is best known for her sonic boom research.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson highlighted the challenges these women faced, saying their accomplishments are even more remarkable given the barriers of racism and sexism. Also speaking was Margot Lee Shetterly, author of the book “Hidden Figures,” which helped shine a light on their story.
An additional medal symbolically presented to honor all those contributions to NASA that went unrecognized.
