Highlights
Ross was the first female engineer at Lockheed in 1942.
Mary G. Ross, a member of the Cherokee Nation, is the first known Native American female engineer in 1942 and the first female engineer in the history of Lockheed. She was one of the 40 founding engineers of the renowned and highly secretive Skunk Works project at Lockheed Corporation.
Ross was highly influential in aerospace design. During her long career at Lockheed, Ross designed rocket missiles and satellites for interplanetary space travel and earth-orbiting flights. She was hired by NASA and contributed to the Apollo program and numerous classified projects. In 2019, she was depicted on the Native American $1 Coin to honor Native Americans in the space program.
