Rise of the Rocket Girls, Nathalia Holt

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory started as a division of Cal Tech, known as the ‘suicide squad’ because of their propensity for blowing things up (on campus!).  JPL used a lot of computers in their early days. Back then the word ‘computer’ was used to define a math genius who could turn strings of figures into useful data armed with just a notebook and pencil. The ‘computers’ at JPL were all women with mad math skills and an unshakeable work ethic. They literally got the space program off the ground long before NASA even existed.  

You still see their work in every launch and they plotted the trajectory and course changes for unmanned missions like Voyager and Mariner. These women were space pioneers, hopefully this book brings them the recognition they’ve long deserved.