Episode Details
Back to EpisodesWomen Who Helped Launch the Space Program at NASA -1940s-1970s
Description
Women behind the scenes is where all the action and work took place at NASA.
Men at NASA didn't want to have anything to do with computers. They considered complex calculations to be "women's work" so they passed the task of learning IBM's new Fortran computer program to Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematics genius.
She accepted the challenge and brought NASA into the computer age making the space program at NASA possible.
Katherine Johnson was instrumental in sending the first astronauts, Alan Shepard and John Glenn into space. She also brought the crew of the damaged Apollo 13 back to Earth safely.
Join Kit and Sherlock to hear more about these two incredible women.
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