• last year
On Sept. 12, 1992, NASA astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to go to space.

In NASA's early days, women and people of color were never selected to go to space. NASA didn't send a woman to space until the seventh space shuttle mission in 1983. The first African-American man NASA launched into space flew on the following mission that same year.

Nine years later, NASA finally selected an African-American woman to fly on STS-47, the 50th space shuttle mission. Jemison was a trained engineer and licensed physician who served in the Peace Corps before applying to become an astronaut.
She worked as a mission specialist on STS-47 and logged over 190 hours in space. STS-47 was her only mission. In 1993, she retired from NASA and went on to found her own company, the Jemison Group, which is a technology consulting firm.
Transcript
00:00 On this day in space.
00:03 In 1992, NASA astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to go to space.
00:08 In NASA's early days, women and people of color were never selected to go to space.
00:13 NASA didn't send a woman to space until the 7th Space Shuttle mission in 1983.
00:17 The first African American man NASA launched into space flew on the following mission that same year.
00:22 Nine years later, NASA finally selected an African American woman to fly on STS-47, the 50th Space Shuttle mission.
00:29 Jemison was a trained engineer and a licensed physician who served in the Peace Corps before applying to become a NASA astronaut.
00:35 She worked as a mission specialist on STS-47 and logged over 190 hours in space.
00:41 STS-47 was her only mission.
00:44 In 1993, she retired from NASA and went on to found her own company, the Jemison Group, which is a technology consulting firm.
00:50 And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:53 Music.

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