Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in...

Described as the "ultimate engineer" during his career at NASA, George M. Low was a visionary architect and leader from the agency's inception in 1958 to his retirement in 1976. As chief of manned spaceflight at NASA, Low was instrumental in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Low's pioneering work paved the way for President Kennedy's decision to make a lunar landing NASA's primary goal in the 1960s. After the tragic 1967 Apollo 1 fire that...

This book is a behind-the-scenes look at the bizarre crime of astronaut Lisa Nowak, who drove 900 miles to intercept and confront her romantic rival in an airport parking lot--allegedly using diapers on the trip so she wouldn't have to stop. This is a riveting journey inside the high-pressure world of one of America's most elite agencies and the life of one beleaguered astronaut.

"A picture book biography of Nancy Grace Roman, the astronomer who overcame obstacles such as weakening eyesight and teachers who did not believe astronomy was an appropriate career for a woman to lead the NASA team to build the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the empowering story of a female scientist's triumphs at a time when society discouraged women from pursuing scientific careers. It is also the story of an important milestone in the field of...

"Before John Glenn orbited the Earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as "Human Computers," calculating the flight paths that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women. Segregated from their white counterparts by Jim Crow laws, these "colored computers," as they were known, used slide rules, adding machines, and pencil and paper to support America's...

"The Space Age began just as the struggle for civil rights forced Americans to confront the long and bitter legacy of slavery, discrimination, and violence against African Americans. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson utilized the space program as an agent for social change, using federal equal employment opportunity laws to open workplaces at NASA and NASA contractors to African Americans while creating thousands of research and technology...

Biography of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.

"You've likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 moon landing. But do you know about the mathematical genius who made sure that Apollo 13 returned safely home? As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe. From...

"A volume describing the innovations of Robert Hoyt. Hoyt is developing a robotic technology called SpiderFab that builds spacecraft while in orbit around Earth"--