Major Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr.

Born on October 2, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, Major Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. was the first Black American astronaut candidate. Lawrence attended Bradley University where he joined the Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).  Due to his active participation in ROTC, Lawrence was commissioned as a second lieutenant and became a pilot at the age of 21.  While in the United States Air Force, he was stationed in Germany where he became an instructor, flying the Temco T-35 Buckaroo.  Lawrence went back to school and in 1965 he completed his Ph.D. in physical chemistry.  After a rigorous selection process, NASA chose Lawrence for its astronaut program on June 10, 1967.  Lawrence’s last flight was a training flight for Major Harvey J. Royer, with Lawrence as copilot, seeking extra experience in Lockheed F-104 Starfighter handling.  While practicing landing configurations mimicking the North American X-15, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter hit the runway off-center, skidded, and momentarily became airborne.  The pilots ejected too late, with Royer sustaining severe injuries.  Major Robert H. Lawrence Jr. was killed upon impact, he was 32 years old. 

Guion S. Bluford, Jr.

Born on November 22, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Colonel Guion “Guy” Bluford Jr. was the first Black American NASA astronaut to go to space. After graduating in 1964 from Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in aerospace engineering and honors in the Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Bluford was assigned to Williams Air Force Base where he earned his wings in 1966.  He initiated his combat duty in Vietnam, flying 144 combat missions in the McDonnell F-4C Phantom II.  Following his time in Vietnam, he worked as a staff development engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  Following his selection in 1979, Bluford was a mission specialist on STS-8, aboard the Challenger, and on August 30, 1983, the shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center.  His last flight was on December 2, 1992, and after four missions and 688 hours in space, Bluford retired six months later.  He continued his career in the aerospace industry with various administrative and research positions, until his retirement from Northrop Grumman in 2002.  Colonel Guion Bluford Jr. continues to be an engineering consultant in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Norman Howard Casson

Norman Howard Casson 

Born on September 8, 1931 in Dover, Delaware, Norman Howard Casson was a supervisor in the Apollo program.  Motivated by a love of knowledge and the early recognition of his talents by grade-school teachers, Norm Casson enrolled in Delaware State University in 1949, majoring in engineering.  Several years later, Norm was drafted into the newly-designated United States Air Force for service in the Korean War.  He was an integral part of the Technical Tiger Team, a select group of engineers tasked with the most difficult troubleshooting interventions for aircraft such as the Boeing B-50 Superfortress, Convair B-36 Peacemaker, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.  An injury prevented Casson from entering the pilot training program, so after ten years of service, he left the Air Force and joined the Glenn L. Martin Company.  At Martin, he utilized his exemplary problem-solving skills to help hone the weapon systems of the TITAN I and TITAN II Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, eventually becoming chief test conductor for five TITAN II ICBMs.  Due to his notoriety for high attention to detail and meticulous management of high-risk missions, Casson joined NASA, where he became an indispensable member of the Apollo program.  He was head of the Apollo Spacecraft Checkout Group, which oversaw the strict safety certification of every Apollo capsule.  After a 60-year career in the aerospace industry, he retired and founded Casson International, an engineering consulting firm.  Norman Howard Casson died on May 4, 2022 in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

Mary Jackson of West Computers

West Computers

Best known by the popularized nickname “Hidden Figures,” the mathematicians of Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory were essential to the success of the war effort, as well as subsequent accomplishments by NASA.  Until June of 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, prohibiting discrimination in the defense industry, Black women were not permitted to hold positions at these research facilities.  However, after the passage of Executive Order 8802, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) hired Black American women to assist in human computing.  These positions consisted of data analysis and calculations, without the use of computers or similar electronic devices.  After the end of World War II, the women of West Computers began work on what would become the space program, this transition was one of the many catalysts that prompted the women to protest ongoing segregation. .  Desegregation was implemented once NASA was established in 1958 and the women were no longer relegated to the building of the West Area Computing Unit, they shifted their focus to space-related projects, including flight test data computation and trajectory analysis for the Mercury Project.  The women of West Computers and their contributions to America’s aerospace progress went largely unrecognized until the 2010s, when Katherine Johnson, a mathematician, became a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. The next year, a book, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race, was published and adapted for the screen to bring the story of these pioneers to the forefront and cement their place in history.

Mae Jemison

Mae Carol Jemison

Born on October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama, Dr. Mae Carol Jemison was the first Black American female in space. Only 16 when she graduated from high school, Jemison earned high scores on her PSAT and was awarded a National Achievement Scholarship which she used to gain entrance to Stanford University.  Later, she attended Cornell University with the professional goal of biomedical engineering research.  Subsequently, she received her M.D. from the University of Southern California in 1982 and enlisted in the Peace Corps. Inspired by previous Black American astronauts and Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Lt. Uhura in Star Trek, Jemison applied to the NASA astronaut program.  After two attempts, she was accepted in 1987.  On September 12, 1992, as a mission specialist, Mae Jemison flew on the space shuttle Discovery for mission STS-47.  She spent eight days in space on her first and only mission, after which she retired from NASA to pursue a career in the private sector.  She taught environmental studies at Dartmouth College from 1995-2002.  Dr. Mae Carol Jemison continues to give lectures around the country on topics concerning education and progress toward equality. 

Dr. Sian Hayley “Leo” Proctor 

Dr. Sian Hayley “Leo” Proctor 

Born on March 28, 1970 in Hagåtña, Guam, Dr. Sian Hayley “Leo” Proctor was the first Black American female pilot of a commercial space flight.  Her father was a NASA engineer, employed at the Guam Remote Ground Terminal.  She completed her education at Arizona State University, with a B.S. in environmental science, an M.S. in geology, and a Ph.D. in science education.  Proctor applied for the NASA Astronaut Selection Process and in 2009 was named a finalist but was not one of the nine astronauts eventually chosen.  Despite her earlier success, in two subsequent applications, Proctor didn’t even make the final list.  She returned to teaching and continued working in science education, including projects for NASA.  In early 2021, Proctor was selected to pilot the SpaceX Inspiration4 civilian space flight.  Inspiration4 launched on September 15, 2021 from Kennedy Space Center and spent three days in orbit.  Dr. Sian Proctor continues her career in science education, lecturing at universities and advising for the National Space Council.

Dr. Wendy Okolo

Dr. Wendy Okolo 

Born in 1989 in Nigeria, Dr. Wendy Okolo was the first Black woman to earn her Ph.D. in aerospace engineering.  As a young girl, Okolo was a straight-A student and showed an early interest in engineering.  It was during her undergraduate studies that she decided to major in aerospace engineering and was awarded an internship at Lockheed Martin, where she assisted with the Orion spacecraft project.  After graduating with her Honors B.Sc. in 2010, she was promptly accepted to the University of Texas at Arlington, for postgraduate studies where she completed her Ph.D. in 2015, at the age of 26. While finishing her dissertation, Dr. Okolo worked at the United States Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  After graduation, she applied for a position at NASA through their careers website and was hired as a research engineer for discovery and systems health technology.  She has received numerous accolades, including the 2021 NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal, is an author, and stars in a television program, encouraging  younger generations to seek STEM careers.  Currently, Dr. Wendy Okolo is the associate project manager at the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center. 

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