Hello everyone,
I'm Nidhi Gupta, and this is Women Weekly! In this week of discussing the wonderful women in STEM, we are back with yet another incredible story of Dr. Katherine Johnson, who was the mathematician whose calculations sent John Glen into orbit on Apollo 11.
Born in 1918, Katherine Johnson was a Black woman in a segregated America, facing not only gender discrimination but also racial barriers. Her brilliance in mathematics was evident from an early age, and despite limited educational opportunities for Black women, she pursued and excelled in her studies, eventually earning degrees in both mathematics and French.
Johnson began her career at NASA as a "human computer" in 1953, working at the Langley Research Center. During her tenure, she calculated orbital mechanics for many missions, including the trajectory for John Glenn’s historic 1962 flight. Despite her immense contributions, her work initially went unrecognized, and her responsibilities were confined to verifying the calculations of her male colleagues. However, her talents did not go unnoticed for long. She soon became known for her meticulous and groundbreaking work, especially in celestial navigation and trajectory analysis.
The phrase “Reach for the stars, just like Katherine Johnson” reflects the story of the mathematics and mathematician behind NASA’s 1962 Friendship 7 mission, piloted by astronaut John Glenn. When Glenn grew concerned that NASA had switched to a computer for checking computations regarding reentry into the atmosphere, he insisted that Johnson herself verify the numbers, stating, "If she says they're good, I'm ready to go." Johnson meticulously accounted for factors like drag, aerodynamic lift, vacuum perigee altitude, the spacecraft’s center of gravity, and more to ensure a safe reentry corridor. The mission and Johnson’s calculations were instrumental in ensuring a successful flight.
Johnson played a critical role in calculating trajectories for some of NASA's most historic missions, including the Apollo 11 moon landing. Yet, her contributions remained uncelebrated for decades, overshadowed by the achievements of her male counterparts. Only in later years did Johnson receive the acknowledgment she deserved, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Her legacy extends beyond her mathematical achievements. In 2016, her story gained renewed attention through the publication of the book Hidden Figures, which highlighted the contributions of African American women at NASA.
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