![]() The stark contrast between the unforgettable milestones these women helped achieve-advancing humanity literally to the Moon and back-and the regressive attitudes they had to endure can be stunning. The book delves deep into the story of these "West Area Computers," so named because they were confined to the "colored" section in Langley's west wing, in compliance with Jim Crow segregation laws. Henson Play a NASA Mathematician in 'Hidden Figures' The book, published in fall 2016, was adapted into a recently released film of the same name-currently leading the US box office. The story of these women is recounted in Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, written by Hampton native Margot Lee Shetterly, a former investment banker and media entrepreneur whose father was a research scientist at Langley. ![]() These brilliant women were hired to crunch numbers for the center's aviation and aeronautics projects their work contributed to major technological victories, including Chuck Yeager's breaking of the sound barrier in 1947, John Glenn's 1962 historic orbital flight in Friendship 7, and the Apollo Moon landings. Among their ranks were a group of African-American female mathematicians based at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. ![]()
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