Gladys West

Gladys West developed software at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. She interacted with large-scale computers for astronomical and terrestrial modeling purposes.
West managed the Seasat radar altimetry project, producing the first satellite that could sense oceans from orbit. She also created an IBM computer to precisely model Earth’s somewhat irregular shape. The data this computer produced was instrumental in developing the GPS.
West retired in 1998, after 42 years.

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