*Aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe made history back in 2022 when it was announced that she would be the first Black woman to travel to space with Jeff Bezos. Now she’s making headlines once again after securing a billion-dollar government contract.
Bahamian-American Bowe is the founder and CEO of STEMBoards, which was awarded a $947 million contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), as part of a joint venture with Exacta Solutions. STEMBoards develops smart systems and solutions for government and private clients.
Per a statement related to the contract, the grant will be used to “provide support to NGA’s total lifecycle acquisition management, strategic financial management and strategic business management activities.”
In addition to STEMBoard, Bowe also developed LINGO, a home-based coding kit for students. Next year, she will travel to space via Bezos’ Origins commercial spacecraft company.
“As the first Black woman confirmed to fly with BLUE ORIGIN on #NewShepard, I am expected to be the sixth Black woman to cross the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary of space!” Bowe wrote in a LinkedIn post celebrating her upcoming space trip.
“This mission comes 30 years after former NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut Mae Jemison became the first Black woman to travel to space in 1992. Since then, there are only four other Black women who carry that distinction: NASA astronauts Stephanie Wilson, Joan Higginbotham, Jessica Watkins and Dr. Sian Proctor of the SpaceX Inspiration4 Mission,” she continued.
Bowe said she is “honored” to follow in the footsteps of these “incredible” women.
“I can’t wait to fly on a future flight of BLUE ORIGIN’s #NewShepard,” she added.
Bowe stressed the importance of technology diversity in an interview with the State Department.
“I want to abandon the idea that engineers look a certain way and that people in certain fields look a certain way, broadly. To me, that’s the power of diversity and engineering and science and technology,” she said. “You make the end product reflect the needs of the many as opposed to the few by having diverse perspectives in the engineering and design process.”
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