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[i]To my knowledge, the document posted here is the only attempt by experienced aerospace engineers to unravel fact from fiction in "Hidden Figures." The heart of the document consists of commentaries written by Harold (Hal) Beck and Kenneth Young, members of the Mission Planning and Analysis Division of the Manned Spacecraft Center from Mercury through Apollo (and beyond). Their expertise specifically involves spacecraft trajectories and rendezvous, issues that are central to the claims made in "Hidden Figures." Also, before joining the manned spaceflight program, Hal Beck worked at a desk next to Katherine Johnson's for nearly two years. "The Portrayal of Early Manned Spaceflight in Hidden Figures: A Critique" consists of seventy-one pages of mostly arcane material. It is not an easy read. Our purpose in disseminating it is to make evidence available to future historians and journalists who will need to decide what to make of the story told in "Hidden Figures." We cannot count on that happening unless the document is so widely available that future writers cannot help running across it during their research. We encourage everyone with a special interest in manned spaceflight to download it. The document is not copyrighted. You are welcome to distribute it and quote it at whatever length you wish as long as the quotations are accurate and in context. We have invited Margot Shetterly, the author of "Hidden Figures," to respond and will post verbatim anything she writes on this website. If others have relevant empirical material in the form of either personal experience or documentation, we will post that as well.[/i]
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