Mathematician katherine johnson nasa1/3/2023 ![]() ![]() Still, she never downplayed her role or contribution either. Throughout her life she remained humble about her accomplishments, saying on more than one occasion, “I was just doing my job.” (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Henson, and Octavia Spencer at the Oscars on. Janelle Monae, from left, Katherine Johnson, Taraji P. While she spent much of her career as a “hidden figure,” Johnson received much-deserved recognition later in life, especially as the main character in Margot Lee Shetterly’s book Hidden Figures and its subsequent film adaptation. Johnson went on to calculate the trajectories that would land Apollo 11 on the moon, and return Neil Armstrong and crew safely back to Earth. “If she says the numbers are good,” Glenn said, “I’m ready to go.” Still, Glenn had much more faith in Johnson than he had in machines, insisting she check the figures by hand. By the time John Glenn was ready to take Friendship 7 into orbit around the Earth, computer machines had replaced most if not all of the calculations previously done by human computers. become the first American in space in 1961. Johnson, working in the Flight Research Division at Langley, was at its epicenter. In response, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, turning NACA into NASA, changing its focus from defense to space exploration.Īnd Katherine G. An NBC radio announcer described it as, "the sound that forevermore separates the old from the new." Its characteristic chirping sound played across radio stations nationwide became a shot heard ‘round the world. On the evening of October 4, 1957, the course of NACA would change forever, as 184 pounds of metal known as Sputnik orbited its way across the United States. Quietly the quality of my contribution began to outweigh the arbitrary laws of racial segregation and the dictates that held back my gender,” excerpted from Reaching for the Moon (K. Then after a while, in addition to ‘why,’ I also started asking ‘why not’ so that I could get to the root of the question. ![]() If I encountered something I didn't understand, I'd just ask. I also would persist even if I thought I was being ignored. I didn't allow their side-eyes and annoyed looks to intimidate or stop me. Back then men - especially those in prestigious careers - expected that women would not question them. I started asking them ‘how’ and ‘why.’Īt first, they were surprised. To ensure that I'd get the answer right, I needed to understand the thinking behind their choices and decisions. “Every time engineers would hand me their equations to evaluate, I would do more than what they'd asked. Johnson proved herself so invaluable to the division that she was never released back to West Computing.Īs a major part of her job was to check the engineers’ calculations for errors, she had to find a way to correct them without putting the engineers on the defensive. When I sat down, the engineers sitting next to me got up and walked away,” excerpted from Reaching for the Moon (K. We were given desks near each other and were each given a calculating machine. “We grabbed our purses and lunch bags, then followed the man over to the Maneuver Loads Branch of the Flight Research Division, where we were then assigned to an all-male research team. Two weeks into her job, Johnson recalled, an engineer came running into West Computing, the division of African American computers, looking for “two Colored computers.” ![]() NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson is seen in 1966. ![]()
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