Katherine Johnson
contributorScience, Computing & Medicine
NASA research mathematician whose trajectory and orbital-mechanics work supported the first American human spaceflights and the Apollo lunar program.
- Primary role
- Research mathematician
- Lifespan
- 1918–2020
- Relationships
- 9
- Sources
- 3
Biography
Place in spaceflight history
Johnson calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 mission, checked the electronic-computer calculations for John Glenn's Friendship 7 flight, and contributed orbital-rendezvous calculations used by Apollo.
Her technical work helped make early American human spaceflight possible while her career broke barriers for Black women in aerospace mathematics and engineering.
Katherine Johnson’s archive record spans Mathematician, Human computer, Trajectory analyst through work connected with NACA, NASA Langley Research Center. The linked record places that work within Project Mercury, Apollo, Space Shuttle, Landsat.
Career profile
Roles, organizations, and programs
Roles
- Mathematician
- Human computer
- Trajectory analyst
Organizations
Programs
- Project Mercury
- Apollo
- Space Shuttle
- Landsat
Archive relationships
Named records, programs, and organizations connected to this archive identity.
- Freedom 7Calculated trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard's flight
- Friendship 7Personally checked the electronic-computer orbital calculations requested by John Glenn
- Apollo 11Contributed calculations supporting Apollo lunar-flight rendezvous work
- NACACanonical organization
- NASA Langley Research CenterCanonical organization
- Project MercurySpaceflight program
- ApolloSpaceflight program
- Space ShuttleSpaceflight program
- LandsatSpaceflight program
Sources
Original references supporting this record. Each source opens on its publisher’s website.