Hidden Figures of the Space Race Receive Congress Highest Honor at Medal Ceremony

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.

'Hidden Figures' Receive Congressional Gold Medal

This photo provided by NASA shows mathematician Katherine Johnson in 1966. (NASA via AP)
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NASA engineer Christine Darden, who was one of the "human computers" employed by NASA during the space race, attends a Senate subcommittee panel on NASA exploration on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday, July 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
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FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows engineer Mary W. Jackson at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., in 1977. (Robert Nye/NASA via AP)
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This undated photo provided by NASA shows Dorothy J. Vaughan. (NASA via AP)
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U.S. Capitol Police honor guards place Congressional Gold Medals to be presented at a ceremony to honor the Black women mathematicians of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the movie "Hidden Figures," at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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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. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, stands with Dr. Christon Darden, left, to present a Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of her grandmother Christine Darden as they honor the Black women mathematicians of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the book and 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. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, presents a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously honoring NASA mathematician Mary Jackson to her granddaughters KaShawnta Lee, left, and Wanda Jackson, joined at right by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., at a celebration of the Black women of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the book and movie "Hidden Figures," at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, presents a Congressional Gold Medal to Ann Hammond, daughter of NASA's Dorothy Vaughan, at a ceremony to honor the Black women mathematicians of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the book and 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. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accidentally drops a Congressional Gold Medal while posing for a photograph with NASA's Johnson Space Center Senior Apollo Sample Processor and Lab Manager Andrea Mosie, left, at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony to honor the Black women mathematicians of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the book and movie "Hidden Figures," at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., watches at right. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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This photo provided by NASA shows mathematician Katherine Johnson in 1966. (NASA via AP)

NASA engineer Christine Darden, who was one of the "human computers" employed by NASA during the space race, attends a Senate subcommittee panel on NASA exploration on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday, July 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows engineer Mary W. Jackson at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., in 1977. (Robert Nye/NASA via AP)

This undated photo provided by NASA shows Dorothy J. Vaughan. (NASA via AP)

U.S. Capitol Police honor guards place Congressional Gold Medals to be presented at a ceremony to honor the Black women mathematicians of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the movie "Hidden Figures," at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, stands with Dr. Christon Darden, left, to present a Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of her grandmother Christine Darden as they honor the Black women mathematicians of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the book and 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. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, presents a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously honoring NASA mathematician Mary Jackson to her granddaughters KaShawnta Lee, left, and Wanda Jackson, joined at right by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., at a celebration of the Black women of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the book and movie "Hidden Figures," at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, presents a Congressional Gold Medal to Ann Hammond, daughter of NASA's Dorothy Vaughan, at a ceremony to honor the Black women mathematicians of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the book and 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. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accidentally drops a Congressional Gold Medal while posing for a photograph with NASA's Johnson Space Center Senior Apollo Sample Processor and Lab Manager Andrea Mosie, left, at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony to honor the Black women mathematicians of NASA who contributed to the space race and who were the subject of the book and movie "Hidden Figures," at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., watches at right. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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.

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