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Cincinnati's 'hidden figure,' Gussie Wallace, dies at 101

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Posted at 5:26 PM, Jul 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-23 18:05:30-04

Without Gussie Wallace, the Apollo 11 astronauts might not have made it back to earth. This week, the Cincinnati area and the space community both were mourning her death.

"She did a lot of hard work," said Glenda Davis, Wallace's daughter, in 2019. "She came home tired many days."

Wallace worked for Avco in 1969, developing new technology for the first lunar module. Her team specifically worked on the digital uplink assembly, which she said helped make sure the lunar module could get from the moon's surface back to the orbiting spacecraft overhead.

Services will take place Saturday at the Greater Emanuel Apostolic Temple on Galbraith Road.

Watch WCPO's prior coverage of Wallace here:

Local woman was a "hidden figure" behind scenes of moon landing