![]() Beyond helping the US go to the moon, Katherine has several honorary degrees, has co-authored many research papers, and is an excellent example of how wonderful our minds can be. Today, Katherine lives in Hampton, Virginia, has six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and loves to play piano and bridge. It was one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, with Katherine's massive intellect as part of the process along the way. In 1969, Katherine was also the one to calculate the Apollo 11 flight to the moon. In 1962, NASA used computers to chart John Glenn's orbit around earth, but NASA insisted on Katherine's personal verification of the math the computer came up with before allowing the John Glen to go up. As told in the book (and movie) Hidden Figures, Katherine Johnson led the team of African-American women who did the actual calculation of the necessary. In 1959, Katherine was the one to calculate the trajectory for Alan Shepard's flight, the first American in Space. Katherine was one of the few who actually had the right training and intellect, and became part of the Spacecraft Controls Branch. Katherine didn't just check the math, her math was the basis for spaceflights. Katherine would be key to NASA and the first US Space Flights! NASA then was specifically looking for African American women who would check the math and do calculations for engineers. Once again, Johnson’s calculations were instrumental in NASA’s success. ![]() But Katherine in 1953 really wanted to go back to work, and went to join the early iteration of NASA (then called NACA). ![]() Katherine became a teacher, one of the few career options for women then. ![]() She was one of the first African Americans to enroll, but could not complete due to family obligations. Graduating Summa Cum Laude (the highest honor) with two degrees in Math and French, Katherine enrolled in West Virginia University to earn an graduate degree in Math. In College, her favorite professor created a special course in Analytic Geometry just for her. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner. Her parents moved her family 125 miles away from home in search of the education they knew she and her siblings needed, and Katherine lived up to that dream. Hidden Figures: Directed by Theodore Melfi. A natural math genius and excellent student, Katherine started school in the 2nd grade (not kindergarten), and graduated High School at 14 years of age. It’s the same.Katherine Johnson, born Augin White Sulphur Springs West Virginia, helped the United States go to the moon. If I gave you that answer last year, it’s the same now. And it was a joy to contribute to the literature that was going to be coming out.īut you know, math is the same. I like the stars and the stories we were telling. A physicist, space scientist, and mathematician, Katherine Johnson gained a minute in the national glare in 1970 when she was instrumental in formulating calculations that helped the crippled Apollo 13 return home safely. The main thing is I liked what I was doing. I didn’t do anything alone but try to go to the root of the question – and succeeded there. Her calculations proved critical to the success of the Apollo Moon landings and the start of the Space Shuttle program. Katherine continued to work at NASA until 1986. But when they went to computers, they called over and said, "Tell her to check and see if the computer trajectory they had calculated was correct." So I checked it, and it was correct. She was a 'computer' at Langley Research Center 'when the computer wore a skirt,' said Johnson. Credits: NASA/Sean Smith But probably a lot smarter. You could do much more, much faster on the computer. Katherine Johnsons work at NASAs Langley Research Center spanned 1953 to 1986 and included calculating the trajectory of the early space launches. You tell me when you want it and where you want it to land, and I'll do it backward and tell you when to take off." That was my forte.Įven after NASA had electronic computers, John Glenn requested that Katherine personally recheck the computer calculations before his 1962 Friendship 7 flight – the first American mission to orbit Earth. As a human computer, Katherine calculated the trajectory for astronaut Alan Shepard’s 1961 Freedom 7 mission to space – the first spaceflight for an American.Įarly on, when they said they wanted the capsule to come down at a certain place, they were trying to compute when it should start.
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