From hidden figures to modern figures. ⁣ ⁣ NASA’s early achievements in air and space would not have been possible without the Black women who worked in the “West Area Computing” unit at nasa_langley between 1943 through 1958 (back when NASA was NACA — the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics). The West Computers group overcame discrimination and contributed to virtually every area of research at Langley.⁣ ⁣ Some of these notable women include Katherine Johnson, Mary W. Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn.⁣ ⁣ Mathematician Katherine Johnson performed the trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 mission in 1961, America’s first human spaceflight. Astronaut John Glenn specifically asked for Johnson to check the trajectory of his orbital flight in 1962: “If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go.” Johnson also worked on calculations for Apollo, space shuttle, and Landsat missions.⁣ ⁣ Aeronautical engineer Mary W. Jackson became NASA’s first Black woman engineer in 1958. Jackso...