Katherine Johnson
Computed the trajectories that put Americans in orbit
At a glance
- Inventor
- Katherine Johnson
- Life
- 1918–2020
- Birthplace
- White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
- Country
- United States
- Region
- United States
- Era
- 1950–2000
- Fields
- Space & Aerospace, Science & Engineering
- Evidence
- Verified
- Records
- 0 in this archive
What they did
Johnson co-authored NASA Technical Note D-233 (1960) on determining orbital launch windows and re-entry points, and verified the electronic computations for John Glenn's orbital flight at his request.
Historical context
NASA's 'human computers' worked in a segregated West Area unit at Langley. Electronic computers were new and not yet trusted.
The legacy
Her published work is in the open NASA technical record — a rare case where a Black woman's mathematical contribution was formally authored rather than absorbed.
The evidence
NASA Technical Note D-233 (1960)
Primary recordKatherine Johnson biography and records
Primary record
Documentation strength
- 2
- Sources
- 2
- Primary
- 2
- Publishers
Calculated from the sources actually attached to this record — the closer a source sits to the original document, the more it counts. It is never asserted by hand.