Science & Technology
A legendary life
Katherine Johnson
Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson
August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020
NASA mathematician whose orbital calculations helped make early American human spaceflight and the Moon landing possible.
Her story
A life that changed history
Katherine Johnson joined the segregated West Area Computing unit at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1953 and later became a key member of NASA's Space Task Group. Her calculations supported the Mercury, Apollo, Space Shuttle and Landsat programs, and John Glenn specifically asked her to verify the computer-generated trajectory for his historic orbital flight.
“I loved going to work every single day.”
NASA, Katherine Johnson Biography