A Hidden Figure in Plain Sight
When astronaut John Glenn refused to launch without her calculations confirmed, the name Katherine Johnson quietly entered space history. Before computers took over, her mind mapped America’s path to the stars, one equation at a time, in a segregated NASA where precision meant survival.
Early Genius
Born in 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Johnson showed extraordinary math skills by age ten. Her parents moved so she could continue school beyond eighth grade, splitting their lives between home and the town of Institute. At fourteen, she graduated high school. By eighteen, she earned degrees in mathematics and French from West Virginia State College, mentored by professors who recognized her rare analytical talent.
Breaking Barriers at NASA
In 1953, Johnson joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which later became NASA. She started as a “human computer” in the segregated West Area Computing section, performing complex calculations for aircraft and spaceflight research. Her expertise in analytic geometry soon earned her a spot on the Flight Research Division, where she became the first woman in her group to have her name on an official NASA report.
The Numbers Behind the Orbits
Johnson calculated trajectories for Alan Shepard, the first American in space, and verified John Glenn’s orbital path for the Friendship 7 mission in 1962. Glenn personally requested her review before his flight. She later contributed to the Apollo 11 mission, ensuring the Moon landing and safe return, and worked on Apollo 13’s emergency procedures when disaster struck in 1970. Her work extended into the Space Shuttle program and early plans for a human mission to Mars.
Recognition and Later Life
After retiring in 1986, Johnson received long-overdue honors. In 2015, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. NASA named the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility in her honor, and in 2019, Congress awarded her the Congressional Gold Medal. She passed away in 2020 at age 101. Through every stage of her career, Katherine Johnson’s calculations quietly shaped the most daring missions in human spaceflight.
John Glenn said he would not launch until Katherine Johnson checked the numbers.
Before digital computers, her calculations guided the first US crewed flights.
This is how she learned early, joined NACA, and shaped Mercury and Apollo…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/1lMsZBNVjc
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) October 21, 2025