NASA's headquarters are now on the "hidden characters path": NPR



[ad_1]

NASA's director Jim Bridenstine (from left), Sen. Ted Cruz, chairman of the board of the D.C., Phil Mendelson, and Margot Lee Shetterly, the author of the book. Hidden characters, Unveils Hidden Figures Way Street Sign at Opening Ceremony Wednesday in Washington, DC

NASA / Joel Kowsky


hide legend

activate the legend

NASA / Joel Kowsky

NASA's director Jim Bridenstine (from left), Sen. Ted Cruz, chairman of the board of the D.C., Phil Mendelson, and Margot Lee Shetterly, the author of the book. Hidden characters, Unveils Hidden Figures Way Street Sign at Opening Ceremony Wednesday in Washington, DC

NASA / Joel Kowsky

NASA highlights the legacy of African-American women who have played a major role in the race for space but are only recognized recently.

This week, the space agency renamed the street in front of its headquarters, Hidden Figures Way.

Hidden figures is the name of a book and a movie that celebrate the contributions of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. Its author, Margot Lee Shetterly, was at the opening ceremony with members of the women's families.

"Naming this street Hidden Figures Way reminds us, to all who come here, the standard set by these women, their commitment to science and their embodiment of the values ​​of equality, justice and humanity," said Shetterly. "But let us also remember the way Hidden Figures, which is to open your eyes to [contributions] people around us, so that their names are also those we remember at the end of the story. "

Last year, Senators Ted Cruz, Ed Markey, John Thune and Bill Nelson introduced a bill to rename the street to honor the "human computers" of the National Advisory Committee of the United States. aeronautics, which later became NASA.

In its early days, the space agency relied heavily on people "who were doing mathematical equations and mathematical calculations by hand," notes the bill. They played a vital role in aeronautical and aerospace research in the laboratory from the mid-1930s to the 1970s. "

Katherine Johnson played a major role in calculating the trajectory of John Glenn's mission in orbit around the Earth, among other achievements. According to NASA, Mary Jackson "would have been the only black aeronautical engineer in the field" in the 1950s. And Dorothy Vaughan ran a separate computer unit for almost 10 years. There, she was the "first African-American manager" of NASA.

NASA scientist and mathematician Katherine Johnson, shown here in 1962, is one of the "hidden figures" in honor of the new street name in front of NASA headquarters.

Donaldson Collection / Getty Images


hide legend

activate the legend

Donaldson Collection / Getty Images

"Here we are 50 years after the landing of the Apollo 11 lunar lander, celebrating those characters that were not celebrated at the time," said NASA's director. , Jim Bridenstine, at the ceremony.

Cruz said he hoped that the name of the street would prompt to retell the stories of women for years.

"For years, then decades, then centuries, when little girls and little boys come to see NASA, they will look in the air and see that panel, and they will say:" Hidden Numbers? What is it? What does it mean? And this, in turn, will spark a story – a story about the unlimited human potential of each of us, "said Cruz.

[ad_2]

Source link