First African-American female astronaut to speak at Charlotte event

Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to go into space, will be featured speaker at the Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council’s Women of Distinction event Sept. 19 in Charlotte.

The event, held at the Westin Charlotte, recognizes outstanding women who have made significant achievements in expanding the horizon for young girls.

As a NASA astronaut from 1987 to 1993, Jemison made history as the first African American female astronaut on the STS-47 Spacelab J(apan) mission and was NASA’s first science mission specialist performing experiments in material science, life science and human adaptation to weightlessness.

“At an early age, I was encouraged to explore and develop…