In August of 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., gives his “I Have a Dream” speech to the crowd gathered for the March on Washington. The event organizer is A. Philip Randolph, head of the railroad porters’ union during the Roosevelt era. A few months later, Dorothy is recognized for twenty years of service at Langley. Randolph’s confrontation with Roosevelt made her career possible. Over the next few years, NASA increases its efforts to recruit Black men and women for science and engineering jobs.

By early 1967, NASA is closing in on Kennedy’s Moon landing goal. The effort suffers a tragic setback when the three astronauts of the Apollo 1 mission die in a capsule fire during testing. For the Space Task Force, the disaster means long workdays to meet new, tighter safety standards for future missions. Katherine pushes herself relentlessly. One day, she drives her car off the road after falling asleep at the wheel. Fortunately, she is unhurt. In the spring, Christine Mann, now going by her married name, Darden, completes a master’s program at Virginia State University. Christine is encouraged to apply to work for NASA and is quickly hired at Langley. She never works for Katherine, but they attend church together and are socially close.