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Katherine Johnson

Also Known As Creola Katherine Coleman (birth name)

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Hand-Plotted Trajectory Curve

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
Birth Date
1918-08-26 1
Birth Year
1918 2
Death Date
2020-02-24 1
Death Year
2020 2
Nationality
American 1
Defining Contribution
Orbital mechanics calculations that verified the trajectories of the first American crewed spaceflights 1
Notable Work
Orbital trajectory calculations verified for John Glenn's 1962 Friendship 7 spaceflight 2
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Dorothy Vaughan, Pioneers

Colleagues in NACA/NASA Langley's segregated West Area Computers group; their story, with Mary Jackson's, was told in Hidden Figures.

John Glenn, Astronauts and Cosmonauts

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)
Mary Jackson, Pioneers

Colleagues at NACA/NASA Langley; their careers, with Dorothy Vaughan's, were told together in Hidden Figures.

NASA, Space Agencies and Companies
Source NASA History Office
Sources
1. NASA History Office
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationKatherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (born)
Quote, Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (born)
August 26, 1918
2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationKatherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (died)
Quote, Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (died)
February 24, 2020
2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationKatherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (born as)
Quote, Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - infobox (born as)
Creola Katherine Coleman
2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationKatherine Johnson, Wikipedia - Career section (Glenn verification)
Quote, Katherine Johnson, Wikipedia - Career section (Glenn verification)
Glenn had asked for her specifically and had refused to fly unless Johnson verified the calculations.
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