FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician whose hand-calculated flight equations helped launch the U.S. space program, died Feb. 24, 2020. She was 101.
Born Aug. 26, 1918, Johnson began high school at age 10. Nine years later, she graduated college with highest honors.
In 1953, Johnson began working at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NASA’s predecessor agency. She analyzed test flight data and calculated flight equations by hand rather than by computer.
Astronaut John Glenn requested her expertise for his 1962 orbital mission.
“If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go,” Glenn said.
Glenn’s flight was a success and marked a turning point in the space race between the United States and Russia.
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