Alabama will be the site of a new training camp for the next generation of female astronauts—funded and named in honor of one of the profession’s great pioneers.
Okay, maybe next exactly, because the Nichelle Nichols Space Camp honors someone who pioneered an idea rather than a profession—an idea that color barriers didn’t exist in outer space.
Passing away in 2022, African American actress Nichelle Nichols was the first black woman to star in a primetime American TV show when she took the role of Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on Star Trek. As a bridge officer, it wasn’t just that she had plenty of screen time in the show, but she was one of the highest ranking characters according to the show’s plotline…