The women of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) helped launch the first American satellites, lunar missions and planetary explorations. Those ‘human computers’ as they were called, are seen here in 1953. Janez Lawson was the first African American hired into a technical position at JPL. Courtesy NASA/JPL-CaltechNMMSH News:
ALAMOGORDO ― Katherine Johnson, Barbara Paulson, Margaret Brunn, Helen Ling and Susan Finley, to name just a few, all have one thing in common. They are the women who worked alongside the men to make the space program succeed.
Not all were computer technicians. Some were engineers. Others worked on satellites. They are the Unsung Women Heroes of the Space Race, women who contributed greatly to the space race but whose stories have mostly remained untold. To learn more, join Museum Curator Sue Taylor Friday, March 1 for the free monthly Launch Pad Lecture.
The Launch Pad Lecture is free to the public and is held at 9 a.m. on the Museum’s first floor on the first Friday of each month. Coffee and donuts are compliments of the International Space Hall of Fame Foundation. The next Launch Pad Lecture is April 5 and the topic will be The Forgotten Missions: Apollo IX and X with Museum Executive Director Chris Orwoll.
The Launch Pad Lectures are streamed live on Periscope and available after the lecture on the museum’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2SirhgX3NsxcREfOVLjHeA.
The New Mexico Museum of Space History, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
For more information, call 575.437.2840 or toll free 1.877.333.6589 or visit the website at www.nmspacemuseum.org. Like us at: www.facebook.com/NMSpaceMuseum/
