Katherine Johnson
- A Girl Like You Project
- Jun 5, 2023
- 1 min read
Photo: NASA
Katherine Johnson was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. She was one of three black students chosen to integrate into West Virginia's graduate schools. She graduated from West Virginia State College with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.
In 1953, she moved to Newport News, Virginia to work at Langley. She was assigned to a project in the Maneuver Loads Branch of the Flight Research Division, and her temporary position became permanent. Her next four years were spent analyzing flight test data and investigating plane crashes.
At NASA she became the first women in the Flight Research Division to receive credit as an author of a research report after she coauthored Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite Over a Selected Earth Position.
1962, NASA ran the numbers and calculations needed for John Glenn's Friendship Mission. The astronauts were wary of trusting the machine's calculations. Glenn requested that they have Johnson run the numbers by hand saying "If she says they're good, then I'm ready to go." The mission was a success and helped the United States in the Space Race against the Soviet Union.
At the age of 97, Katherine Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her legacy and work with the Friendship 7 is remembered in the movie Hidden Figures.
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