U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and author Margot Lee Shetterly are among the dignitaries attending Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony in Hampton, Virginia, to officially open NASA Langley Research Center’s newest building – a 37,000-square-foot facility that will support innovative research and development across the agency’s missions.
Katherine G. Johnson, for whom the Computational Research Facility (CRF) is being named, will also be attending the event. Johnson, now 99 years old, was a “human computer” at Langley who calculated trajectories for America’s first spaceflights in the 1960s. She is also a central character in the book and movie “Hidden Figures.”
Johnson will participate in photo opportunities, but will not be available for interviews. A prerecorded message from her will be aired during the ceremony, and made available to the media.
This event is not open to the public. However, anyone who would like to watch the ceremony can do so via a NASA TV live broadcast.
SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 21 – 12 p.m.: Deadline for news media registration.
* Media wishing to attend must contact Michael Finneran at 757-864-6110 or michael.p.finneran@nasa.gov
Friday, Sept. 22
* 11-11:15 a.m.: News media who registered must check in at the Badge & Pass Office no later than 11:15 a.m. to receive an access badge and be escorted onto the center.
* 11:30-11:50 a.m.: Guided tour of the new facility.
* 12-12:40 p.m.: Johnson, family members and VIPs will take a private tour of the new facility. Media access during this time is limited. NASA will provide video and still photographs of the tour.
* 1-2 p.m.: Official ribbon cutting ceremony.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The ribbon-cutting ceremony is being broadcast live on NASA Television, as well as via the NASA.gov website:
* https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public
* We encourage the media to share this link with their audiences
AVAILABLE CONTENT
* Video b-roll of Katherine Johnson interview/quotes, which is embargoed until 1 p.m. Sept. 22: https://youtu.be/FgW2kpNQ7BY
* Photographs of Johnson, as well as interior and exterior shots the new facility: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa_langley/albums/72157685473362611
* Video b-roll of the new facility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK9x1YueMPI&feature=youtu.be
* Katherine G. Johnson bio: https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography
* Computational Research Facility fact sheet: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/lrc-katherine-g-johnson-crf-fact-sheet.pdf?emrc=0343ad