Poppy Northcutt
| Frances 'Poppy' Northcutt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 10, 1943 Manny, Louisiana U.S. |
| Residence | Houston, Texas |
| Other names | Poppy |
| Alma mater | University of Texas |
| Occupation | Engineer, Lawyer, Stockbroker |
Frances 'Poppy' Northcutt (August 10, 1943-) is a Texas attorney who notably began her career as a 'computress' and then an engineer for the technical staff on NASA's Apollo Program during the space race. She was the first female engineer to work in NASA's Mission Control during Apollo 8. Lunar crater Poppy in her honor for her work and pioneering in the Apollo Program.
Later in her career, Northcutt became an attorney specializing in women's rights. In the early 1970s, she served on the national Board of Directors of the National Organization for Women.
Frances "Poppy" Northcutt was born in Manny, Louisiana on August 10, 1943. She grew up in Luling, Texas and then moved to Dayton, Texas. Northcutt attended high school at Dayton High School in Liberty County and then went on to study mathematics at the University of Texas.
After graduating in three and a half years, Northcutt was hired in 1965 by TRW, an aerospace contractor with NASA, as a computer for the new Apollo program. She was soon promoted to engineer stationed in the Mission Control's Mission Planning and Analysis room. She was the first female engineer to work as part of NASA's Mission Control.
Northcutt and her team designed the return-to-Earth trajectory that the Apollo 8 crew took from the moon back to Earth. She made key insights that identified mistakes in the plan before they were executed. If there was any delay in swinging around the moon resulting in using up more fuel than planned it was up to Northcutt and her team to make on-the-spot calculations and changes to the plan to ensure the astronauts' safe return. Apollo 8 was the second crewed spacecraft for the United States and became the first crewed mission to ever leave orbit. It successfully reached the Earth's moon, orbited it and then returned to Earth safely on December 27,1968.
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