Morgan started her engineering career in 1958 as an intern at the U.S. During Apollo 11, she was in charge of the guidance computers at the Central Instrumentation Facility as well as the communications and television broadcast systems. She was not just the only woman in mission control during the Apollo 11 moon mission, but she was also the first female engineer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC). JoAnn Hardin Morgan was the instrumentation controller for Apollo 11. Vice President Spiro Agnew delivered his congratulatory remarks. This photo was taken following the successful launch of Apollo 11, as U.S. HERE: JoAnn Morgan, NASA's first and only female engineer during Apollo 11, is surrounded by men in the Firing Room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969. Related: Apollo 11 at 50: A Complete Guide to the Historic Moon Landing (opens in new tab) Click through this gallery to learn more about the women behind Apollo. Their names may not be as well known as their male counterparts, but these women's contributions were just as important to the success of the Apollo program (opens in new tab).
They designed spacecraft, calculated flight trajectories, engineered software, helped with astronaut training, monitored astronauts' vital signs during spaceflight and more. But they played critical roles in getting the astronauts to the moon and back home safely. As we celebrate the momentous achievements of NASA's Apollo program and the men who risked their lives by flying to the moon, let's look back at some of the remarkable women who helped make the moon landing possible.ĭuring the Apollo era, women made up no more than 5% of the agency's workforce. EDT 02/07/21: This article previously stated that NASA astronaut John Glenn was the first American to reach space in 1962.Fifty years ago, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. "He ushered in an era of human space exploration that unfolded over the 60 years since, including 30 years of the space shuttle program, and continues to this day with NASA's Commercial Crew program, the International Space Station, and the Artemis program."Ĭorrection 9:30 a.m. But I think Gagarin's legacy is more than that. Historic firsts are usually the most well-remembered. "Yuri Gagarin's courageous mission on Apopened a new era in the exploration of space. "It is highly likely that without the embarrassment of Gagarin's successful flight, President Kennedy would not have committed the resources necessary for the Apollo program," he said. Were it not for Gagarin's spaceflight, Odom said, the political will to finance the Apollo program may never have materialized. officials, this area was the Moon, and in the same year that Gagarin conducted the first human spaceflight, Kennedy announced that NASA would try and put a man on the Moon before the decade was out. Kennedy to figure out areas in which the U.S. "Coming just over three years after the shock of Sputnik 1, Gagarin's spaceflight placed pressure on President John F. space program was falling behind what appeared to be a more technologically advanced Soviet program. continued to push for the gradual, measured approach to the space program, others saw the feat as another example that the U.S. Brian Odom, acting chief historian at NASA, told Newsweek the reaction to it at the time was mixed. Historians dub this period of history the "space race"-a time in which the two world powers rushed to advance their space capabilities.įor the U.S., Gagarin's flight proved to be a humbling moment for NASA. In the midst of these two pioneering moments for spaceflight, the young National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was preparing for the United States' own attempt at getting a human into space a feat it achieved later in 1961 when astronaut Alan Shepard reached space in the Freedom 7 spacecraft. In addition to Gagarin's flight, the Soviet Union's space program had previously sent the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into space in October 1957. What NASA's Mars Rover Mission Has Achieved In Its First 50 Days.Fact Check: Did NASA's Perseverance Rover Photograph a Mars Rainbow?.
How Russia Sent the First Man to Space With a 'Steampunk' Contraption.
0 kommentar(er)
