2019, Book 22: Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt

Book 22: Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt

A very necessary book.  The history of space exploration is so awash in accounts of "great men" doing "great work," this under-appreciated history of contributions by women in aerospace needs to be told.  While the very popular movie Hidden Figures broke open the story of women acting as computers in our spacefaring history, it focused on NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia.  Rise of the Rocket Girls adds to this story by focusing on JPL in California.

JPL holds a unique place in NASA.  It's NASA's only FFRDC (federally funded research and development center).  It conducts operations for NASA as though it's one of NASA's field centers, but is not run directly by NASA, instead managed by Caltech.  This makes employees of JPL employees of Caltech, not the U.S. government.  The Rocket Girls in the book played no small part in making that happen, helping JPL prove its aerospace capabilities time and again to give NASA the confidence to allow such an arrangement.

What I really liked towards the end of the book is how Holt gives a run-down of the various parts these Rocket Girls played in a few select missions.  These women were really central and crucial to the success of these missions, not just an auxiliary function.  The list is also very broad, ending up far more expansive than the initial, somewhat limited roles women were initially hired for.  We have far more to thank women for in space exploration than is usually given.