ArticleslgStudy

science

Rocket Girls (NASA)

Rocket Girls (NASA) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rocket Girls (NASA) rather than just read about it. In short: The Rocket Girls were the women that worked at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) before the development of electronic computers. These women are mostly unknown, but they did the majority of all hand calculations for missions.

Rocket Girls (NASA) — main illustration
Rocket Girls (NASA) — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Rocket Girls (NASA) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Rocket Girls (NASA) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Rocket Girls (NASA) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Rocket Girls were the women that worked at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) before the development of electronic computers. These women are mostly unknown, but they did the majority of all hand calculations for missions. Most of these women were called "computers" since they computed things.

Notable women Barbara Paulson was one of the lead female computers hired by JPL. Macie Roberts was the supervisor of the female computers at JPL. She became the supervisor in the 1960s and continued her work for over thirty years. Helen Ling was a human computer supervisor at JPL. Ling followed in the footsteps of Macie Roberts as a supervisor for the female division of computers. She recruited and trained females that were proficient in mathematics and physics. Her legacy includes diversifying the female populus at JPL and continuing the excellence of female workers at NASA and JPL. Eleanor Frances discovered many meteors and comets while working at NASA.

Sources mentioned in The book Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America's First Female Rocket Scientist (2013) was written by George D. Morgan. The book Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars (2016) was written by Nathalia Holt. The book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race (2016) was written by Margot Lee Shetterly. The movie Hidden Figures (2016) depicts the computers at NASA, including Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan, and is loosely based on the book of the same name.

References

Illustrations

Rocket Girls (NASA): Jet Propulsion Laboratory computers (1953)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory computers (1953)
Rocket Girls (NASA): One of the hundred computers at work at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in 1951, with her slide rule and adding machine
One of the hundred computers at work at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in 1951, with her slide rule and adding machine

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rocket Girls (NASA)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rocket Girls (NASA) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rocket Girls (NASA) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rocket Girls (NASA) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rocket Girls (NASA)

In research
Rocket Girls (NASA) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Rocket Girls (NASA) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Rocket Girls (NASA) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American women scientists, History of women in California, Jet Propulsion Laboratory faculty, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Rocket Girls (NASA) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Rocket Girls (NASA)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Rocket Girls (NASA) in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Rocket Girls (NASA) means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Rocket Girls (NASA) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rocket Girls (NASA) in simple terms?

The Rocket Girls were the women that worked at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) before the development of electronic computers. These women are mostly unknown, but they did the majority of all hand calculations for missions.

Why does Rocket Girls (NASA) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rocket Girls (NASA)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rocket Girls (NASA).

Tags

  • American women scientists
  • History of women in California
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory faculty

Keep exploring