Katherine Johnson was a brilliant mathematician who helped make NASA spaceflights possible. Johnson was one of the “West Area Computers,” Black, female mathematicians who did complicated calculations by hand that were essential for developments in flight and spaceflight.
Three of the women who helped make NASA successful are featured in this 2016 movie.
When John Glenn was about to make his first orbit of the Earth, he asked NASA to have Johnson doublecheck all the computer calculations because he trusted her work more than he did the work of a machine. She worked at NASA for 33 years and was integral in many of its programs, including the Apollo and space shuttle programs.
In 2015, at age 97, Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama. She died in 2020 at the age of 101.
The 2016 movie Hidden Figures focuses on three of the women who were part of the West Area Computers: Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. Look for the movie if you haven’t seen it — it’s a nice pick-me-up!
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