Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.

Nov 22, 2016 · Engineers from those groups formed the core of the Space Task Group, the NACA’s first official foray into space travel. Johnson, who had worked with many of them since coming to Langley, “came along with the program” as the NACA became NASA later that year.

Apr 16, 2025 · Katherine Johnson, American mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Her work helped send astronauts to the Moon.

Oct 10, 2016 · Best Known For: One of NASA's human 'computers,' Katherine Johnson performed the complex calculations that enabled humans to successfully achieve space flight.

Nearly two decades before the Little Rock Nine, Katherine Johnson was chosen as one of three Black students, and the first Black woman, to integrate West Virginia University and pursue graduate studies. She studied math, but soon left to start a family.

Katherine Johnson was a mathematician whose calculations contributed significantly to the United States’ achievements in space exploration.

Nov 5, 2024 · As a human computer, Katherine calculated the trajectory for astronaut Alan Shepard’s 1961 Freedom 7 mission to space – the first spaceflight for an American. Early on, when they said they wanted the capsule to come down at a certain place, they were trying to compute when it should start.

Nov 11, 2022 · Katherine Johnson was a NASA mathematician who played a key role in several NASA missions during the Space Race, including calculating the trajectory needed to get the Apollo 11 mission to the...

Oct 30, 2024 · Born in the segregated south of 1918, Katherine Johnson was a trailblazer from day one. Not only was she one of the first Black students to integrate West Virginia’s graduate schools, she went on to become a NASA mathematician—sending astronauts into orbit, around the Earth, and to the moon.

The stars were always within reach for Katherine Johnson. Using her mathematics skills, she helped NASA send astronauts to the moon and return them safely home. She also overcame racial and...

May 25, 2017 · Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson (1918– ) is an African-American mathematician who made valuable contributions to critical aeronautics and space programs of the NACA and NASA.

Feb 24, 2020 · In NASA’s early years, gifted mathematicians analyzed and verified complex aerospace data. Today, one of the most recognized of these ‘human computers’ is Katherine Johnson.

Katherine Johnson played a key role in numerous NASA missions during the Space Race, from first orbital flights to the moon landing.

Katherine Johnson (born Creola Katherine Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020), also known as Katherine Goble, was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.

Apr 25, 2025 · Katherine Johnson was often seen as one of the most significant figures to represent women in science and technology and was one of the women profiled in the book "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly.

Nov 24, 2015 · By 1953 the growing demands of early space research meant there were openings for African-American computers at Langley Research Center’s Guidance and Navigation Department – and Katherine Johnson found the perfect place to put her extraordinary mathematical skills to work.

The world knows Katherine Johnson as a Hidden Figure research mathematician at NASA whose work helped send the first astronauts to the moon. But what was she really like and how did she help make such advances in aeronautics?

Feb 24, 2020 · Katherine Johnson loved math. Early in her career, she was called a “computer.” She helped NASA put an astronaut into orbit around Earth and on the moon.

Nov 1, 2024 · NASA mathematician, trailblazer in the quest for racial equality, contributor to our nation’s first triumphs in human spaceflight and champion of STEM education, Katherine G. Johnson stands among NASA’s most inspirational figures.