American History, Unfiltered: Ellen Ochoa

American History, Unfiltered:A post series highlighting people from traditionally marginalized groups who accomplished great things for America.

Next Monday (4/17) marks 30 years since Ellen Ochoa first went into space. Her career started as an innovative engineer and she went on to become the first Hispanic woman astronaut. Since then she has logged nearly 1,000 hours in space and won many awards for her success.  

Now, at age 64, she is director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, the second woman to hold the title and the first Latina.