Women's History Month: Katherine Johnson

Writer: Kawthar Alasaad

August 26, 1918, marks the day a genius and an inspiring woman was born, opening the door for many more women to lead; her name was Katherine Johnson. Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician who calculated and studied the flight paths of several spacecraft throughout her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Her efforts aided in the launch of astronauts to the Moon.

Katherine's bright future started at the age of ten, when she first started attending high school, leading to starting college at fifteen. Katherine eventually went to graduate school to study math at West Virginia University; she decided to leave academia temporarily to raise a family but would return to teach.

One of Katherine Johnson's most notable achievements at NASA was assisting in calculating the trajectory of the country's first human spaceflight in 1961, ensuring astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr.'s safety. Later, in 1969, she computed the orbits of Neil Armstrong's historic Apollo 11 trip to the Moon. Katherine died at the age of 101 on February 24, 2020. The Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility at NASA's Langley Research Center has been dedicated to honoring her contribution to her legendary work.

Katherine has set the standard for women to take on any role, making it possible to do it all and discarding the black-and-white vision women had known and reinforced over generations with her work impact as well as starting a family midway. Katherine's story has set the stories of many women after her, and she continues to be one with the stars.