An American mathematician whose orbital mechanics calculations at NASA were critical to the success of the first American crewed spaceflights, including John Glenn's 1962 orbital flight and the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Her work, and that of her fellow Black women mathematicians at NASA, was popularized by the book and film Hidden Figures.
Facts
Defining ContributionOrbital mechanics calculations that verified the trajectories of the first American crewed spaceflights 1 Notable WorkOrbital trajectory calculations verified for John Glenn's 1962 Friendship 7 spaceflight 2 Connections
Associated With
Colleagues in NACA/NASA Langley's segregated West Area Computers group; their story, with Mary Jackson's, was told in Hidden Figures.
Johnson verified the electronic computer's orbital trajectory calculations for Glenn's Friendship 7 flight at his own request.
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Katherine Johnson (Wikipedia)Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - Career section (Glenn verification)
Mary Jackson, Pioneers Colleagues at NACA/NASA Langley; their careers, with Dorothy Vaughan's, were told together in Hidden Figures.
Source NASA History Office
In the Other Atlases
Same As
Also in Mathematics Atlas: the same subject.
Also in Science Atlas: the same subject.
Source Katherine Johnson (Wikipedia)tier 3
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Sources
1. NASA History Office
National Aeronautics and Space Administration- Birth Date: 1918-08-26
- Death Date: 2020-02-24
- Nationality: American
- Defining Contribution: Orbital mechanics calculations that verified the trajectories of the first American crewed spaceflights
View the Source 2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation- Birth Year: 1918
- Death Year: 2020
- Notable Work: Orbital trajectory calculations verified for John Glenn's 1962 Friendship 7 spaceflight
Katherine Johnson (Wikipedia)
Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (born)
August 26, 1918
Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (died)
February 24, 2020
Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (born as)
Creola Katherine Coleman
Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - Career section (Glenn verification)
Glenn had asked for her specifically and had refused to fly unless Johnson verified the calculations.
In Group: Human Computers, Mathematicians and Software Pioneers, Lead sentence
Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman, previously Goble; August 26, 1918, February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician and human computer whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S.
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