![]() We were all moved by the stories of triumph over adversity. ![]() Katherine's experience of being the first, the only, or among the few who looked like her in a given professional setting was strikingly familiar to us. The 950 attendees at that session included students from 52 historically Black colleges and universities. The panelists' discussions provided insight into NASA's early days and the contributions of pioneering minority and female mathematicians and engineers, pieces of the early history and public face of the agency that had been missing until recently. Lee III, a former Langley climate scientist and “hidden figure” and aeronautical engineer Christine Darden. I attended a panel at the 2017 Emerging Researchers National Conference featuring Shetterly her father, Robert B. In a 2016 video NASA stated, “Her calculations proved as critical to the success of the Apollo Moon landing program and the start of the Space Shuttle program, as they did to those first steps on the country’s journey into space.I never had the privilege of meeting Katherine, except in the pages of Shetterly's book, which provides incredible insight into the gifted and confident yet understated mathematician whom astronaut John Glenn was prepared to trust with his life. Johnson was included on the BBC’s list of 100 Women of influence worldwide in 2016. NASA renamed the Independent Verification and Validation Facility, in Fairmont, West Virginia, to the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility on February 22, 2019. Katherine Johnson, part of a small group of African-American women mathematicians who did crucial work at NASA, in 1966. First she worked as a teacher, then she spent some time at home to focus on her three daughters and, in 1953, began working at the NACAs West Area Computing. Johnson also received a Silver Snoopy award often called the astronaut’s award, NASA stated it is given to those “who have made outstanding contributions to flight safety and mission success”. ![]() President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of 17 Americans so honored on November 24, 2015. Johnson was named West Virginia State College Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in 1999. Her social influence as a pioneer in space science and computing is demonstrated by the honors she received and her status as a role model for a life in science. Johnson working as a “computer” at NASA in 1966 Awards and Honors When the mission was aborted, her work on backup procedures and charts helped set a safe path for the crew’s return to Earth, creating a one-star observation system that would allow astronauts to determine their location with accuracy. In 1970, Johnson worked on the Apollo 13 Moon mission. She also helped to calculate the trajectory for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. With a slide rule and a pencil, Katherine was responsible for calculating orbital trajectories of numerous space flights, including Alan Shepard, the first American in space and the Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. Her work also helped to ensure that Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 Mercury capsule would be found quickly after landing, using the accurate trajectory that had been established. Katherine Johnson and other 'Human Computers' played an integral role in the early days of America's space program. When NASA used electronic computers for the first time to calculate John Glenn’s orbit around Earth, officials called on Johnson to verify the computer’s numbers Glenn had asked for her specifically and had refused to fly unless Johnson verified the calculations. She plotted backup navigation charts for astronauts in case of electronic failures. She also calculated the launch window for his 1961 Mercury mission. Johnson calculated the flight path for the first space mission of the US and the first moon landing. She calculated the trajectory for the space flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Washington: Katherine Johnson, a woman mathematician who was one of NASA’s human computers and inspiration for the acclaimed movie Hidden Figures, passed away on Monday. Photo credits: NASA Her Important contributionsįrom 1958 until her retirement in 1986, Johnson worked as an aerospace technologist, moving during her career to the Spacecraft Controls Branch.
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