In 1953, Johnson took a position as a human computer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' (NACA's) all-black West Area Computing section in Langley, Virginia. (She left after the first session to start a family.) In 1939, she was asked to be one of three black students-and the only woman-to integrate into West Virginia University. She attended the historically black West Virginia State College, where she earned a degree in mathematics in 1937 and began teaching at a black public school soon after. In 2017 there will be a biopic film released highlighting her life and work at NASA.Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia in 1918, and developed an early passion and affinity for numbers. 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. Johnson has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in addition to having a research facility named after her at NASA Langley Research Center. Her hard work and dedication to our nation was once lost in the crevices of history but today she deserves to be celebrated,вЂќ said Burrell This is a moment of greatness, what Johnson did back then weвЂ™re using computers to do now. вЂњFor them to see her brilliant mind and how she helped our nation go from earth to the moon and beyond is honorable. Bill Burrell stated JohnsonвЂ™s service to our country and contributions means a lot to the city of Hampton, the Langley community and nation. Vann III was adamant in saying that he hopes JohnsonвЂ™s legacy resonates with every Airman and Soldier at Joint base Langley-Eustis. вЂњShe is certainly an icon and her efforts will never be forgotten.вЂќ вЂњItвЂ™s exciting, IвЂ™ve known her for a very long time and her recognition is long overdue,вЂќ said Vann III. Claude Vann III said he knew Johnson and her family for over 40 years.

Aircraft performance was tested in the divisionsвЂ™ Variable-Density Tunnel and Propeller Research Tunnels to improve the performance of a variety of aircraft in preparation for any future conflicts.Дuring the event an Air Force and Army retiree expressed how proud they were of JohnsonвЂ™s accomplishments. Her efforts also extended beyond NASA to neighbor Langley Air Force where she help develop aircraft security and safety measures for NASAвЂ™s Flight Research Division. Later in 1968, she calculated the trajectory for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the moon. вЂњThey wanted to go to the moon, so I looked up the distance, worked out the equations, and how long they would orbit,вЂќ said Johnson. In 1962 when NASA started to use electronic computers for the first time to calculate John GlennвЂ™s orbit around Earth, officials called on her to verify the computerвЂ™s accuracy.ДЄccording to a NASA biography, Glenn asked for her personally, and refused to fly unless Johnson verified the calculations. вЂњIt gave me an advantage because a lot of stuff they need to know was pure geometry,вЂќ said Johnson. Johnson said that she was the last employee who had taken geometry in high school. But we worked entirely in math, so if there was something they wanted to know I would check for them.вЂќ вЂњYou took a certain amount of math in college and then you quit and went on into engineering.

вЂњMy job was to answer questions for engineers who worked at NASA,вЂќ said Johnson. Johnson and other research mathematicians worked as вЂњhuman computers.вЂќ She also launched window for the 1961 Mercury mission and plotted backup navigational charts for astronauts in case of electronic failures. In addition to calculating orbital trajectories. I just wanted to do the work and thatвЂ™s what I did,вЂќ said Johnson. вЂњI wasnвЂ™t too concerned with racism or gender equality. But it didnвЂ™t hinder her from doing her job. 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. 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. 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 JohnsonвЂ™s honor at Carousel Park in downtown Hampton across from the Virginia Air and Space Center. Johnson who was recognized for her contributions in AmericaвЂ™s first space flight mission. 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.

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