NASA

NASA Names Headquarters for Mary W. Jackson, First Black Woman Engineer at Agency

Mary W. Jackson, who died in 2005, was part of the computing unit featured in "Hidden Figures" and was NASA's first Black woman engineer

In this 1977 file photo, mathematician Mary Jackson, the first black woman engineer at NASA, poses for a photo at work at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Bob Nye/NASA/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

NASA has named its Washington, D.C., headquarters for Mary W. Jackson, the first Black woman engineer at the space agency. Her role and contributions were celebrated in the movie "Hidden Figures."

Jackson "was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space" and helped break barriers, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement Wednesday announcing the honor.

Jackson, who died in 2005, was among those featured in the 2016 film about trailblazing Black women whose work at NASA was integral during the space race.

In 1958, Jackson became NASA's first Black woman engineer, and she stayed for two decades. She joined Langley’s Federal Women’s Program in 1979 and "worked hard to address the hiring and promotion of the next generation of female mathematicians, engineers and scientists," NASA said.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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