NASA Names Headquarters Building After Mary Jackson, First American Female Engineer
The US space agency, NASA has officially named its headquarters building in Washington D.C., after Mary W. Jackson, the first American female engineer at NASA. Mary W. Jackson, one of the ‘Hidden Figures,’ was critical to getting American astronauts into space.
Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted that, she broke barriers at home, persevered, and inspired the next generation of engineers, scientists, and explorers. She helped NASA propel the dawn of the Space Age through her work as a human computer. The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters sign is unveiled by her grandson Bryan Jackson and son-in-law Raymond Lewis on Friday.
Mary Jackson was an American mathematician and an aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which was succeeded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. She worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia for many years. She took advanced engineering clases in 1985 and became first blace female engineer at NASA. She personified nation's spirit and stood as an inspiration for many. She publised a dozen papers and worked to improve commercail aircraft, analyzing data from wind tunnel experiments and real world fight air craft experiments.
Here are some of the tweets from NASA.
Today was historic. We officially named our headquarters building after Mary W. Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA. Have a look at highlights in our @Twitter Moment: https://t.co/2poSjRcLyZ
— NASA (@NASA) February 27, 2021
"She personified NASA’s spirit of persevering against all odds, providing inspiration and advancing science and exploration.”
Today, our headquarters building was formally named in honor of NASA's first African American female engineer, Mary W. Jackson: https://t.co/t0HcNk8ZZ3 pic.twitter.com/9YKKkdfREe
— NASA (@NASA) February 26, 2021
To mark today’s naming of the NASA Headquarters building for Mary W. Jackson, we collaborated w/ @TheEventsDC to showcase 6 local Washington, DC female artists’ work inspired by Jackson’s story as NASA's 1st Black female engineer! Look: https://t.co/LhUdGkm6du#BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/nx2Xi1IHxD
— NASA (@NASA) February 26, 2021
"She was that type of person who would do anything for anybody, no questions asked. Whatever you needed, whether it was finance, whether it was food, whether it was love, whether it was a place to live." - Wanda Jackson, Mary W. Jackson's granddaughter, remembers her. pic.twitter.com/51T54RrxyX
— NASA (@NASA) February 26, 2021
"This piece was about bringing to life Mary Jackson's power and impact, while celebrating her great achievements, and depicting just how out of this world she is." — Visual artist, illustrator, & animator Tenbeete Solomon (@TRAPBOB) presents her artwork honoring Mary W. Jackson. pic.twitter.com/JyrLEK2k6g
— NASA (@NASA) February 26, 2021
“I wanted to create a piece that represented, and celebrated and honored Mary W. Jackson.” “So you can really see... not only the woman we’re celebrating now, but what it took for her to get there.” — Artists on their works inspired by Jackson, through our collab with @EventsDC. pic.twitter.com/QWpOiqEpuk
— NASA (@NASA) February 26, 2021
“May her name, as well as her legacy, forever be a reminder [...] that we as a people have only been able to touch the stars because of ancestors like her, who had the courage, who had the resilience to overcome every obstacle placed in their way.” — Dr. @HenryLouisGates pic.twitter.com/KYtZeCDAiy
— NASA (@NASA) February 26, 2021