Gladys West and the Global Positioning System in LEGO

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This vignette featuring Gladys West is part of "Women of Computing," a project on the LEGO Ideas contest celebrating six pioneering women in technology. If this project receives 10,000 votes, you could soon buy one at a LEGO store near you!

West is best known for her work in developing the Global Positioning System (GPS), which provides geolocation information for countless applications. She began her 40-year career with the U.S. Navy as a human computer, performing mathematical computations. But she quickly moved on to programming computers, and she made important strides on a study of the orbits of Pluto and Neptune and on sensing the ocean surface on Earth. Later, she used complex algorithms to program calculations for a highly accurate model of the Earth that takes into account gravity, tides, and other forces. This work was the basis for what ultimately became the orbit for GPS. In her vignette, she is seen with a GPS model and an office scene featuring a globe and GPS tracking data.

The full Women of NASA set includes five additional minifigures — of Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, Betty Holberton, Jean Jennings Bartik, and Annie Easley — plus vignettes related to their own accomplishments.

To see the full set and to vote, visit: bit.ly/3cgHobo. Thanks for your support!

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