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
9 related records 3 sources
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
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Missions and programs
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Other names mentioned
- Project MercurySpaceflight program
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- ApolloSpaceflight program
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- Space ShuttleSpaceflight program
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- LandsatSpaceflight program
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Sources
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Archive maintenance details
Record content was checked against the linked sources.
- Sources reviewed
- August 10, 2026
- Information current through
- August 10, 2026