'Hidden Figures' of the space race receive Congress' highest honor at medal ceremony

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, presents a Congressional Gold... — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, presents a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Joylette Hylick, left, and Katherine Moore, daughters of Katherine Johnson, the Black NASA mathematician featured in the movie "Hidden Figures," at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. They are joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., second from right, and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

By The Associated PressUpdated September 18, 2024

NEW YORK — The hidden figures of the space race were recognized with Congress’ highest honor at a medal ceremony on Wednesday.

The Congressional Gold Medal was presented to the families of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Christine Darden at the U.S. Capitol. Darden watched the ceremony from her Connecticut home.

A medal was also given to all the women who worked as mathematicians, engineers and “human computers” in the U.S. space program from the 1930s to 1970s.

"By honoring them, we honor the very best of our country’s spirit,” said author Margot Lee Shetterly, whose book “Hidden Figures” was adapted into a film in 2016.

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics – a precursor to NASA – hired hundreds of women to crunch numbers for space missions. The Black women hired worked in a segregated unit of female mathematicians at what is now NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia.

Johnson's hand-written calculations helped John Glenn become the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 – the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Vaughan rose to become NASA's first Black supervisor and Jackson was NASA’s first Black female engineer. Darden is best known for her sonic boom research.