Dr. K. Renee Horton can measure the events that shaped her love of science on a scale of light years.
Horton, NASA’s quality engineer for the Artemis 1 Space Launch System at the space agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is a bonafide trailblazer.
The Baton Rouge native spoke to students at McComb High School on Thursday to encourage them — particularly girls — to explore careers in math and science.
“When I look out at the audience I see people who look like me,” she said.
The Artemis 1 rocket is the most advanced space launch system ever designed and supports the national goal of exploring deep space and Mars.
Artemis 1 will launch the Orion spacecraft 280,000 miles from earth, which is farther than any flight in history, effectively setting the stage for manned deep-space exploration.
Rockets are produced at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans after undergoing development at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, Ala.
They’re tested at Stennis Space Center near the Pearl River in Hancock County and launched from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla.
During her speech Thursday, her second visit to McComb High in as many years, Horton recalled the events that helped launch her career.
“If you want more, you have to be dedicated and adaptable because a lot of things are out of your control,” she said. “I really want you to understand, every successful person has made mistakes. I didn’t let my mistakes dictate my future. Decisions you make today will affect your tomorrow.”
Horton earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a mathematics minor at Louisiana State University before completing her Ph.D. in material science with a concentration in physics at the University of Alabama in 2011.
She was hired by NASA shortly after completing a graduate fellowship while working toward her dissertation and is the only black woman working in her program.
“It pays off to work hard,” she said. “Do not let others dictate how you feel about you.”
Growing up in a family that struggled to make ends meet, she was always interested in science, asking for a telescope for Christmas as early as she can remember.
Things became even tougher after her parent’s divorce. A saving grace in that period came by way of a middle school teacher who helped Horton focus on her passion for science and engineering.
Now she is one of the brains behind our national space program’s most ambitious project.
“I was always convinced I was going to be an astronaut,” Horton said. “I was a geek, a nerd.”
She spoke at length about the importance of setting and working toward goals. As a child she dreamed of becomming an astronaut. She joined the U.S. Air Force ROTC but was denied entrance to a flight program because of a hearing deficiency identified by military medical screening. This left her in a tough position, until she decided to do the next-best thing — build her own rocket.
“Believe it or not, you are in control of your own destiny,” she said.
Now she leads the team of engineers working on the Artemis 1 intended to probe space deeper than ever before in a 2021 mission before sending our scientists back to the moon in 2024.
Horton lives and works on the exciting fringe separating current technology and science-fiction and uses her story to help young students dream big.
“You’re the next generation to build rockets,” she told the packed auditorium before giving all of the students her phone number. “I believe in each one of you sitting in this room. Each one of you have a purpose in life and you each make a huge difference.”
Dr. Horton left the students some pertinent piece of advice.
“When you find your intersection between your talent and your passion, you find your true happiness,” she said.
