Annie Easley

Annie Jean Easley was a computer scientist, mathematician, and rocket scientist at NASA who helped develop the software that powered the Centaur rocket — the high-energy upper stage that launched communication satellites, weather satellites, and interplanetary probes including the Cassini mission to Saturn. She was one of the first Black employees at what would become NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1933, Easley grew up under Jim Crow. Her mother told her she could be anything she wanted — a radical statement for a Black girl in segregated Alabama. She attended Xavier University in New Orleans, studying pharmacy before a newspaper article about "human computers" at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, the predecessor to NASA) changed her path. She was hired in 1955 as one of four Black employees.

Easley spent 34 years at NASA, transitioning from human computer to computer programmer as the agency evolved. Her work on the Centaur rocket's software was critical to dozens of successful launches. She also worked on energy conversion systems and contributed to research on batteries for hybrid vehicles — work that anticipated the electric car revolution by decades. Throughout her career, she mentored young people, tutored students, and fought quietly against the discrimination she faced daily.