Katherine Johnson was a pioneering American mathematician whose calculations were critical to NASA’s early spaceflight programs. She helped compute flight trajectories for Project Mercury, including Alan Shepard’s 1961 suborbital mission, John Glenn’s 1962 orbital flight, and the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Johnson worked as part of NASA’s human computer team, overcoming racial and gender barriers to contribute to several landmark space achievements. She lived from August 26, 1918, to February 24, 2020, and has been widely recognized for her contributions, including a Congressional Gold Medal and the NASA Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility named in her honor. Key highlights

• Early life and education: Born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Johnson excelled in mathematics from a young age, earning advanced opportunities that propelled her into higher education and professional work.

• NASA tenure: After joining Langley Research Center (then part of NACA) in 1952, she and other women performed critical calculations by hand and later with emerging computer systems. Her trajectory computations were essential for safe manned spaceflight.

• Major missions: Contributed to the calculations behind the first American man in space (Alan Shepard), John Glenn’s orbital flight, and Apollo 11’s moon landing.

• Recognition and legacy: Johnson’s work gained broader public recognition after the Hidden Figures film, and she received multiple honors, including the Congressional Gold Medal (2019) and a NASA facility named in her honor.