During the Space Race between Cold War rivals the United States and the former Soviet Union, there was stiff competition between the nations to build spacecraft to explore the skies beyond the stratosphere. In 1960, David Jones, a Black man from Ohio, was the lone Black mechanic to work on NASA’s first spacecraft.
Jones, a native of Crawford County, which rests north of the City of Columbus, was recently profiled by a local Columbus newspaper. He was born in the 1920s and grew up dreaming of building airplanes as a child. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, Jones and a friend set up shop as mechanics in St. Louis.
In 1956, the first of Jones’ major accomplishments took place after he was hired by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation to work as an airplane mechanic. But four years later, a supervisor instructed Jones to report to the company’s Space Program room and his fortunes were changed forever. In this room were the parts for the first space shuttle craft. In all, Jones worked on eight Mercury spacecraft, and 12 Gemini spacecraft.
He also had the good fortune of seeing the spacecraft he helped build take to the skies, and met famed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, both of whom Jones said was friendly to him despite the racial divisions of the times.
Now 90 years of age, Jones has amassed a vast collection of historical artifacts from his time with NASA, including a photograph of him in front of a Gemini spacecraft that flew into space. In the photo, he is the lone Black mechanic in the image. Jones, who retired in 1990, currently resides in Columbus.
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