August 31, 2016 –
HAMPTON, Va. While Langley Air Force Base, Virginia prepares to honor its centennial of Air Power, and NASA Langley Research Center recently celebrated its 99th anniversary, a 98-year-old retired NASA research mathematician named Katherine G. Johnson who was recognized for her contributions in America’s first space flight mission.
On August 26, 2016, residents and local government officials from the city of Hampton, the National Technical Association, and the Sankofa Projects unveiled a historical park bench marker in Johnson’s honor at Carousel Park in downtown Hampton across from the Virginia Air and Space Center. Johnson, a Hampton resident, worked at the NASA Langley Research Center from 1953-1983, and was responsible for the calculating orbital trajectories for space flights.
Johnson was not only a pioneer in her contributions to aeronautics and the space program, she was a trailblazer during a time when opportunities were very limited for African-Americans because of a racism. But it didn’t hinder her from doing her job.
“I wasn’t too concerned with racism or gender equality. I just wanted to do the work and that’s what I did,” said Johnson.
In addition to calculating orbital trajectories. Johnson and other research mathematicians worked as “human computers.” She also launched window for the 1961 Mercury mission and plotted backup navigational charts for astronauts in case of electronic failures.
“My job was to answer questions for engineers who worked at NASA,” said Johnson. “You took a certain amount of math in college and then you quit and went on into engineering. But we worked entirely in math, so if there was something they wanted to know I would check for them.”
Johnson said that she was the last employee who had taken geometry in high school. “It gave me an advantage because a lot of stuff they need to know was pure geometry,” said Johnson.
In 1962 when NASA started to use electronic computers for the first time to calculate John Glenn’s orbit around Earth, officials called on her to verify the computer’s accuracy.
According to a NASA biography, Glenn asked for her personally, and refused to fly unless Johnson verified the calculations.
“They wanted to go to the moon, so I looked up the distance, worked out the equations, and how long they would orbit,” said Johnson.
Later in 1968, she calculated the trajectory for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the moon. Her efforts also extended beyond NASA to neighbor Langley Air Force where she help develop aircraft security and safety measures for NASA’s Flight Research Division. Aircraft performance was tested in the divisions’ Variable-Density Tunnel and Propeller Research Tunnels to improve the performance of a variety of aircraft in preparation for any future conflicts.
During the event an Air Force and Army retiree expressed how proud they were of Johnson’s accomplishments.
Retired U.S. Army Col. Claude Vann III said he knew Johnson and her family for over 40 years.
“It’s exciting, I’ve known her for a very long time and her recognition is long overdue,” said Vann III. “She is certainly an icon and her efforts will never be forgotten.”
Vann III was adamant in saying that he hopes Johnson’s legacy resonates with every Airman and Soldier at Joint base Langley-Eustis.
Retired U.S. Air Force Chaplain, Lt. Col. Bill Burrell stated Johnson’s service to our country and contributions means a lot to the city of Hampton, the Langley community and nation.
“For them to see her brilliant mind and how she helped our nation go from earth to the moon and beyond is honorable. This is a moment of greatness, what Johnson did back then we’re using computers to do now. Her hard work and dedication to our nation was once lost in the crevices of history but today she deserves to be celebrated,” said Burrell
Johnson has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in addition to having a research facility named after her at NASA Langley Research Center. This facility will be a way for her name to continue on for current and future NASA engineers and scientists to perform advance computational research that will help NASA land humans on Mars, design quitter, faster and efficient aircraft and help us better understand our climate.
In 2017 there will be a biopic film released highlighting her life and work at NASA.