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Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols was born on December 28, 1932 in Robbins, Illinois.
Nichelle, an accomplished singer, is most famous for her role as Lt. Uhuru in Star Trek (1966-69) and the subsequent movies.
From the late 1970s until 1987, Nichols was employed by NASA and was in charge of astronaut recruits and hopefuls. Most of the recruits that she launched were minority candidates of different races and/or ethnicities, as well as gender, like Guion Bluford (the first African American male astronaut), Sally Ride (the first American female astronaut), Judith A. Resnik (one of the original female astronauts recruited by NASA, who perished during the launch of the Challenger on January 28, 1986), and Ronald McNair (another victim of the Challenger disaster). She lived in Houston, Texas during her years as a Johnson Space Center employee.
Former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae C. Jemison was inspired by Nichols when she decided to become the first African American female astronaut. Jemison was a fan of the original "Star Trek" (1966).
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