9781422283301

Black Achievement I N SC I E NC E

Space

Elijah McCoy

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Mason Crest

Black Achievement I N SC I E NC E

Biology Chemistry Computer Science Engineering Environmental Science

Inventors Medicine Physics Space Technology

Black Achievement I N SC I E NC E

Space By MARI RICH

Foreword by Malinda Gilmore and Mel Poulson, National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com © 2017 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3554-6 Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4222-3563-8 EBook ISBN: 978-1-4222-8330-1 First printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Produced by Shoreline Publishing Group LLC Santa Barbara, California Editorial Director: James Buckley Jr. Designer: Patty Kelley Production: Sandy Gordon www.shorelinepublishing.com Cover photographs: Laurence Agron/Dreamstime; NASA (bkgd) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Rich, Mari, author. Title: Space / by Mari Rich ; foreword by Malinda Gilmore, Ph.D., Executive Board Chair and Mel Poulson, Executive Board Vice-Chair, National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). Description: Broomall, PA : Mason Crest, [2017] | Series: Black achievement in science | Includes bibli- ographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016002449| ISBN 9781422235638 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422235546 (series) | ISBN 9781422283301 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: African American scientists--Biography--Juvenile literature.| African American astronauts--Biography--Juvenile literature. | African American engineers--Biogra- phy--Juvenile literature. | Space sciences--Biography--Juvenile literature. | Outer space--Explora- tion--History--Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC TL793 .R524 2017 | DDC 520.922--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016002449

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Contents

Foreword, by Malinda Gilmore and Mel Pouson, NOBCChE . 6 Introduction. 8 George Carruthers. 12 Guy Bluford. 18 Charles Bolden . 24 Bernard A. Harris . 30 Mae C. Jemison. 36 Neil deGrasse Tyson . 42 Aprille Ericcson. 48 Careers in Space Exploration. 54 Text-Dependent Questions . 60 Research Projects. 61 Find Out More . 62 Series Glossary of Key Terms. 63 Index/Author. 64

Key Icons to Look for

Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented here. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic moments, and much more!

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cience, Technology, Engineering and Mathe- matics (STEM) are vital to our future, the future of our country, the future of our regions, and the future of our children. STEM is everywhere and it shapes our everyday experiences. Sci- ence and technology have become the leading foundation of global development. Both subjects continue to improve the quality of life as new findings, inventions, and creations emerge from the basis of science. A career in a STEM disci- pline is a fantastic choice and one that should be explored by many. In today’s society, STEM is becoming more diverse and even internationalized. However, the shortage of African Americans and other minorities, including women, still

exists. This series— Black Achievement in Science — reveals the numerous ca- reer choices and pathways that great African-Ameri- can scientists, technologists,

By Malinda Gilmore, NOBCChE Executive Board Chair and Mel Poulson, NOBCChE Executive Board Vice-Chair

engineers, and mathematicians have pursued to become successful in a STEM discipline. The purpose of this series of books is to inspire, motivate, encourage, and educate people about the numerous career choices and pathways in STEM. We applaud the authors for sharing the experi- ences of our forefathers and foremothers and ultimately in- creasing the number of people of color in STEM and, more

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Black Achievement in Science: Space

Series Foreword

specifically, increasing the number of African Americans to pursue careers in STEM. The personal experiences and accomplishments shared within are truly inspiring and gratifying. It is our hope that by reading about the lives and careers of these great sci- entists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians, the reader might become inspired and totally committed to pursue a career in a STEM discipline and say to themselves, “If they were able to do it, then I am definitely able to do it, and this, too, can be me.” Hopefully, the reader will realize that these great accomplishments didn’t come easily. It was because of hard work, perseverance, and determination that these chosen individuals were so successful. As Executive Board Members of The National Organi- zation for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) we are excited about this series. For more than 40 years, NOBCChE has promot- ed the STEM fields and its mission is to build an eminent cadre of people of color in STEM. Our mission is in line with the overall purpose of this series and we are indeed committed to inspiring our youth to explore and contribute to our country’s future in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We encourage all readers to enjoy the series in its en- tirety and identify with a personal story that resonates well with you. Learn more about that person and their career pathway, and you can be just like them.

Series Foreword

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H

istorians believe that humans have dreamed of space flight since ancient times, pointing to rudimentary rockets devised by the Chinese for ceremonial purposes as early as the third century. It was not until the latter half of the 20th century, however, that science and technology had advanced far enough to make human space travel a possi- bility. In 1958, the Na- tional Aeronautics

and Space Adminis- tration (NASA) initi- ated Project Mercury, with the objective of launching a manned spacecraft into orbit- al flight around the Earth and investigat- ing human ability to function in space. The men chosen for the task of piloting the spacecraft were to be called “astronauts,” a

Alan Shepard being hauled up into a rescue chopper

term that was coined based on the tale of the ancient Greek Argonauts, adventurers who boldly explored the unknown. The first manned mission took place in 1961, when as- tronaut Alan B. Shepard boarded the spacecraft Freedom 7 for a suborbital flight lasting 15 minutes and 28 seconds.

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Black Achievement in Science: Space

Introduction

Astronaut Neil Armstrong on the Moon, in a famous photograph taken by Buzz Aldrin.

Project Mercury lasted slightly over four years and includ- ed six manned missions completed. An estimated 2,000,000 workers from both government agencies and private com- panies used their skills, knowledge, and experience for that national effort. Following the successful Mercury missions, the idea of manned spaceflight excited the world’s imagination even further, and on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first person ever to walk on the Moon, an estimated 600 million people—a fifth of the entire population of the Earth at the time—watched the televised event. Among those who dreamed of participating one day in space exploration—if not as astronauts, then as scientists, researchers, technologists, and inventors—were numerous AfricanAmericans. In the years that followed, some of those

Introduction

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people became vital parts of the world space science com- munity. Some men and women of color did indeed reach outer space, while others created technologies and process- es that advanced the exploration of space. The opportuni- ties were sometimes harder to create for African Americans than for others, but the hard work was worth it, and those pioneers have opened doors for thousands since. Addressing an audience at the John F. Kennedy Space

President Obama and his family toured a NASA facility to get an up-close look at the Space Shuttle.

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Black Achievement in Science: Space

Introduction

Center in 2010, President Barack Obama stressed the im- portance of the chosen field of those space science pioneers. Space research has, he asserted, “contributed to immeasur- able technological advances that have improved our health and well-being, from satellite navigation to water purifica- tion, from aerospace manufacturing to medical imaging. And leading the world to space helped America achieve new heights of prosperity here on Earth, while demonstrat- ing the power of a free and open society to harness the in- genuity of its people.” As NASA scientists outline ambitious future goals of landing humans on Mars, providing Internet access to ev- ery corner of the globe (no matter how remote), better pre- dicting catastrophic weather events, and a host of others, more people will be needed to do the research, invent and build essential equipment, provide technical support, and perform innumerable other tasks. Some of those people will have African ancestry about which they are just as proud as they are about goals they achieve in space science. The in- crease in knowledge in this and all scientific fields can only be complete when everyone has a chance to play a part and make a contribution. •

Introduction

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Words to Understand nebulae

clouds of gas and dust in outer space planetarium a building or room in which various celestial images and effects are projected onto the walls and ceiling propagation the transmission of light or sound through a substance

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Chapter 1

George Carruthers

Born: 1939 Nationality: American Achievements:

W hen Apollo 16 was launched from the Kennedy Space Cen- ter on April 16, 1972, it carried an ultraviolet (UV) camera de- signed by George Carruthers. The 50-pound, gold-plated apparatus was set up on the sur- face of the Moon and provided an unprec- edented look at Earth’s atmosphere, allow- ing for the measurement of concentrations of pollutants and providing images of more than 500 stars, nebulae , and galaxies. “One of the things that [made my work] very exciting and interesting is that in the early days of the space program almost every flight was something that was breaking new ground,” he said when he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2003, “especially in the astronomy area, where we were previously limited to telescopes from the ground.”

Engineer and inventor who created key parts of early Apollo missions

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Carruthers was born on October 1, 1939, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, George Carruthers, Sr., was a civil engi- neer who served in the US Army Air Corps. His mother, Sophia, was a homemaker. From an early age, Carruthers, the oldest of four siblings, loved science. An avid builder of model rockets and reader of science fiction, he created his own telescope when he was ten, using lenses he ordered from a catalog and a cardboard tube. He paid for his catalog order with wages he had earned as a delivery boy. When Carruthers was just twelve years old, his fa- ther died suddenly. Sophia and her children moved back to her native Chicago and she found work with the US Postal Service. Carruthers attended Chicago’s Englewood High School, and became one of the few African-American students competing in local science fairs during that era. Although he was said to be only an average student, he took home multiple prizes over the years, including one for another homemade telescope. He spent much of his spare time reading about astronomy in the local library, and he was particularly fond of visiting Chicago’s Adler Planetarium , the oldest in the nation. After graduating from high school in 1957, Carruthers entered the University of Illinois, where he majored in physics and focused on aerospace engineering and astron- omy. After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1961, Carruthers remained at the school to earn a master’s degree in nuclear engineering in 1962 and a doctoral degree in aeronautical engineering in 1964.

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Black Achievement in Science: Space