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On the eve of the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston commemorated the unsung heroes who helped make humanity\u2019s first steps on the Moon possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To celebrate their enduring legacy, Johnson named one of its central buildings the \u201cDorothy Vaughan Center in Honor of the Women of Apollo\u201d on July 19, 2024, during a ceremony recognizing the early pioneers who laid the groundwork for the Artemis Generation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematician and NASA\u2019s first Black manager, played a crucial role in this historic achievement. As the head of the West Area Computing Unit at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, from 1949 to 1958, she led her team in mastering new computer programming languages, helping to pave the way for the agency\u2019s current diverse workforce and leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The program included remarks from Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche, NASA astronaut Christina Koch, and Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDorothy Vaughan, alongside all of our Women of Apollo, represents the best of NASA\u2019s past, and their legacies serve as the inspiration and foundation for our future,\u201d said Wyche. \u201cAs we prepare to take our next giant leap, the Women of Apollo will take each step with us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
NASA leadership joined for the special occasion, including Associate Administrator Jim Free, Acting Associate Administrator for Space Technology Mission Directorate and Langley Director Clayton Turner, Director of NASA\u2019s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi John Bailey, and former Johnson Director Mike Coats. Also in attendance were Reps. Lizzie Fletcher and Sylvia Garcia, and representatives from the offices of Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. John Cornyn, and Rep. Brian Babin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Jeanette J. Epps, and Tracy C. Dyson celebrated the historic moment with a special message from the International Space Station.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have accomplished our dreams of space exploration thanks to the many NASA women that paved the way for diversity, inclusion, and excellence,\u201d said Epps.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding on the efforts of our space exploration pioneers, we continue to work for the benefit of humanity,\u201d said Dyson. \u201cNASA\u2019s success is only possible because of the tenacity and expertise of individuals like Dorothy Vaughan whose legacy of brilliance continues to inspire us today.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program also featured the reading of a poem by Dr. Vivian Ayers Allen, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet, cultural activist, and former NASA editor and typist. The poem, titled \u201cHawk,\u201d was published just 11 weeks before humankind\u2019s first venture into space with Sputnik I as an allegory where space flight symbolizes freedom. Allen\u2019s daughter, Phylicia Rashad, recited the poem ahead of the presentation by Texas Southern University\u2019s Dr. Thomas F. Freeman Debate Team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ceremony also included a \u201cWomen in Human Spaceflight\u201d panel discussion with some of the impactful Women of Apollo and current trailblazers in human spaceflight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The panelists inspired the crowd with their collective experiences of breaking barriers and making monumental contributions to space exploration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Debbie Korth, deputy manager of the Orion Program, moderated the event with panelists Lara Kearney, manager of NASA\u2019s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program; Sandy Johnson, CEO of Barrios Technology; NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch; Andrea Mosie, manager and senior sample processor for NASA\u2019s Lunar Materials Repository Laboratory; and Dr. Shirley Price, former NASA equal opportunity specialist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that as long as I am being myself, I can make a difference,\u201d said Price. \u201cDorothy Vaughan helped me make that difference because she paved the way for me, and I am here to pave the way forward for more to follow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Koch reflected on the future, saying, \u201cI am looking forward to us being driven by our values of inclusivity, making sure that we are going for all and by all in a non-hidden way and that we are calling out the amazing contributions of every single person that has a dream.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heather Vaughan-Batten, Vaughan\u2019s granddaughter, marked the official naming of the building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event concluded with a surprise unveiling of a painting of Vaughan to her family. The portrait, created by Eliza Hoffman, an artist and student from Clear Creek Independent High School, now illuminates the main hallway of the Dorothy Vaughan Center in honor of the Women of Apollo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More than 30 portraits of women who made notable contributions to NASA during the Apollo era now line the building\u2019s main hallway.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watch the building dedication ceremony, ribbon-cutting, and portrait unveiling below.<\/em><\/p>\n \n