Why 'Hidden Figures' —and its unsung heroes — is the ultimate NASA story: By Miriam Kramer2017-01-06 14:00:00 UTC NASA, and its stunning achievements, is much more than just the famous astronauts whose names you know — it was built on the behind-the-scenes work of its unsung heroes

Why 'Hidden Figures' —and its unsung heroes — is the ultimate NASA story: By Miriam Kramer2017-01-06 14:00:00 UTC NASA, and its stunning achievements, is much more than just the famous astronauts whose names you know — it was built on the behind-the-scenes work of its unsung heroes.  From the early days of the United States’ space agency up through today, NASA has been run by  engineers, mathematicians and technicians at the tops of their fields. But you rarely hear their stories or know their names.  Behind every John Glenn or Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin there are tens or even hundreds of people working behind the scenes to keep them alive and healthy in space. That’s NASA’s true nature — a nexus of unseen teamwork and ingenuity that allows the exploration of new frontiers. And there is perhaps no better representation of that paradigm than the story told in the new movie Hidden Figures, released Friday.  Katherine Johnson at work. Image: Nasa The film follows the lives and careers of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson — three real-life “human computers” that contributed significantly to helping fly famous astronauts to space in the early days of the program. (They're portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe, respectively.)