NASA announced Wednesday the agency’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C., will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA.
Jackson started her NASA career in the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Jackson, a mathematician and aerospace engineer, went on to lead programs influencing the hiring and promotion of women in NASA’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers.
“Mary W. Jackson was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space.
“Today, we proudly announce the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building.