Author Margot Lee Shetterly to Receive Space Foundation's Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 5, 2018) - With her book Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race, author Margot Lee Shetterly made the world aware of the major contributions of three NASA mathematicians, who were also female and African-American, during the early years of the U.S. space program. Known as "human computers," Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson contributed important work, such as calculating rocket trajectories for Mercury and Apollo missions. Shetterly became familiar with the women through her father, who was a research scientist at NASA-Langley Research Center.

Published in 2016, Hidden Figures reached number one on The New York Times Non-Fiction Best Sellers list and was made into a feature film the same year.

In 2018, Margot Lee Shetterly will receive the Space Foundation's Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award, presented annually to an organization or individual who has made significant contributions to the public awareness and understanding of space programs and technology.

The award's namesake was an Academy Award-winning writer and producer, space advocate and early member of the Space Foundation board of directors. Morrow awardees have included:
2017 DigitalGlobe and The Associated Press
2016 Andy Weir, author
2015 NASA/Industry EFT-1 Team
2014 Col. Chris Hadfield (Ret.), former Canadian astronaut
2013 Bill Nye, CEO, The Planetary Society
2012 NASA Social Media Team
2011 Jay Barbree, NBC News; Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press; William Harwood, CBS News
2010 Leonard Nimoy, actor and director
2009 Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist

The 2018 Morrow Award will be presented on April 16 during the opening ceremony of the Space Foundation's 34th Space Symposium, a four-day global space conference to be held at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. See more about the Space Symposium at www.spacesymposium.org.

34th Space Symposium Sponsorship
a.i. solutions, Aeroject Rocketdyne, Aerospace Industries Association, AGI, Aviation Week Network, BAE Systems, Ball Aerospace, Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, BWX Technologies, Inc., Colorado Space Coalition, Cosmic AES, Deloitte, El Pomar Foundation, Engility, European Union, Eutelsat America Corp, FedEx, Harris, Inmarsat, Leidos, Lockheed Martin, Maui Economic Development Board, Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, Orbital ATK, Peraton, Raytheon, Riverside Research, National Security Services, Secure World Foundation, SES Government Solutions, SpaceNews, SpaceX, Stellar Solutions, Stratasys, ULA, Viasat.

About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983, the Space Foundation is a 501(c)(3) and the world's premier organization to inspire, educate, connect, and advocate on behalf of the global space community. It is a nonprofit leader in space awareness activities, educational programs, and major industry events, including the annual Space Symposium. Space Foundation headquarters is in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA, and has a public Discovery Center, including El Pomar Space Gallery, Northrop Grumman Science Center featuring Science On a Sphere® and the Lockheed Martin Space Education Center. The Space Foundation has a Washington, D.C., office and field representatives in Houston and the Florida Space Coast. It publishes The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity, and through its Space Certification^TM and Space Technology Hall of Fame® programs, recognizes space-based innovations that have been adapted to improve life on Earth. Visit both of our websites – www.SpaceFoundation.org and DiscoverSpace.org – and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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Space Foundation Contact:
Carol Hively, Director - Public Relations & Team Communications
[email protected]