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NASA Remembers Katherine Johnson 1918 - 2020

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Katherine Johnson worked as a human computer during the early days of space flight.

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My problem was to answer questions and I did that to the best of my ability at all times.

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She did trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard’s May 1961 mission Freedom 7,

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America’s first human spaceflight.

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I liked what I was doing.  I liked work.

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I liked the stars and the stories we were telling.

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and it was a joy.

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When NASA began to use electronic computers for their calculations, astronaut John Glenn said that he'd trust

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the computers only after Johnson personally checked the math.

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I think it was pretty well known that
Katherine Johnson was an unusual person

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with an incredible gift. Her  mathematical
skills were just phenomenal.

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Katherine Johnson's story is an amazing
story and it had an impact on my life.

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Two things that just come to mind is her
persistence and her determination.

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The story of Katherine Johnson and other
mathematicians that worked with her

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definitely had a impact on my career. It's
people like her and others that came

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along with her that paved the way for
people like me to become astronauts.

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At age 97, Katherine Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom,