Katherine Johnson

Photograph of Katherine JohnsonNASA [Public domain]The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, is one of the biggest space agencies in the world. They sent the first man to the moon, they created the Hubble Space Telescope, and they sent probes traveling beyond the solar system. Although a lot of people congratulate NASA for their great accomplishments, no one knows the people who contributed toward them. One woman who was an important figure to the space program was Katherine Johnson. Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia on August 26, 2019. From a young age, she was a math genius; she was allowed to skip grades, entered high school when she was ten and entered West Virginia State College when she was fourteen majoring in math and physics (Gale Biography) (Ewing). After college, she married James Francis Goble and together they had three daughters: Constance, Joylette, and Kathy. She also became a local grade school teacher until the early 1950s when she joined NACA (Ewing). After a few years, James Francis Goble died from a brain tumor. Then in 1959, she got remarried to Lt. Colonel James A. Johnson (Gale Student Resources). While she worked for NACA, which eventually became NASA, she had written and co-written twenty-six reports and made many more calculations for different missions (Loff). Finally after thirty-three years of working for NASA, she retired in 1986 and in 2015, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in acknowledgement of her work in STEM (Gale Student Resources). Johnson has an influential character by having a valuable impact on the space program. She also possesses the trait of determination and dedication by working tirelessly at NASA. Katherine Johnson is recognized as a hero of NASA by her influence on the space program and by her dedication to her job inspiring others to also work to their fullest potential no matter one’s race or gender.

During her time at NASA, Johnson made many important calculations that were influential for groundbreaking missions. One of the missions she calculated for was Friendship 7: “...Glenn asked engineers to ‘get the girl’—Katherine Johnson—to run the same numbers through the same equations that had been programmed into the computer, but by hand, on her desktop mechanical calculating machine … Glenn’s flight was a success, and marked a turning point in the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in space” (Loff). Friendship 7 was a mission where NASA sent astronaut John Glenn into space to orbit the Earth three times before returning home. Since the calculating computers were still new, Glenn could not trust them. So he asked Johnson to double check the calculations before the mission. Seeing that Johnson successfully calculated the right trajectory in time for the flight, she played a crucial part in the mission and attributed toward the space race against the Soviet Union. Another significant mission Johnson calculated for was Apollo 11: “In 1969, as a member of NASA's Space Controls Branch, she was primarily responsible for calculating the outward- and inward-bound trajectories for the trailblazing Apollo 11 mission, in which Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon” (Ewing). This is another example of how Johnson contributed to important missions, especially one that was noteworthy in history. Apollo 11 has its significance because it was the mission where the US sent the first person on the moon. It was also revolutionary to space history because it was the mission where the US won the space race. This proves that Johnson’s role in the mission helped made it happened and that she took part in an extraordinary event. By looking at some of the missions she calculated for, Johnson can be seen as a big impact on NASA demonstrating that she was influential to the space program.

Katherine Johnson at NASA Langley Research Center in 1980NASA [Public domain]Johnson was also dedicated and determined to do her job right while breaking the standards for race and gender. An example of Johnson’s perseverance can be seen when she was first promoted to work for the Flight Research Division: “When the space race heated up with the 1957 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik, Johnson was perfectly positioned to embark on a successful career in a profession dominated by white men” (Gale Biography). During the time, African Americans and Whites were treated differently. Whites were the dominant race causing them to have better jobs, payment, housing, etc. So when Johnson was promoted to work with white men, she exceeded the limits she was entitled to. This is due to the hard work she performed before being promoted from a “Colored Computer” to a “Flight Research Division” worker. Johnson’s dedication and determination can also be seen when she argued her opinion on being segregated: “She queried her male counterparts in detail about briefings and was not shy about suggesting that she be present. At one point, a man who had co-authored one of her reports stood up to a boss who wanted her name excluded from the document...” (Gale Student Resources). This is another example of how African Americans and women were treated differently; they were not allowed in certain places and had different rules for credibility. Since Johnson is female and an African American, the white men in the briefings would not allow her in. She also was not allowed to have her name on reports causing her to give the credit to her co-author. After a while, she decided it was wrong for the men to do this so she stood up for herself. This shows dedication to her job because she was determined to have equal working rights. Although Katherine was still segregated to a different bathroom, eating area in the cafeteria, and salary, she was still able to work amongst white men due to the hard work she did for her job.

Katherine Johnson Awarded Presidential Medal of FreedomNASA [Public domain]Katherine Johnson encourages others that no matter one’s race or gender, one can work hard and get acknowledged through her influence on the space program and by her dedication to her job. She possesses the trait of being influential throughout her career at NASA; she had a huge effect when making calculations and reports for missions like Friendship 7 and Apollo 11. She was also continuously hard working when it came to her work or her rights. Johnson inspires others in many ways. When she was first promoted, she was given a chance to do a job rare for a woman or an African American but she was not afraid to be judged or be let down because she did not fit in. She also was not afraid to stand up for herself and her work. When the other white workers thought she should have different conditions, she argued to be equal and was able to get what she wanted. Because of this, her work was eventually acknowledged by others including the president. Lastly, she inspires others of her race and gender to do more than what they are thought to do. Take her daughters for example: “...Kathy and Constance became teachers, and Joylette spend many years as a computer analyst at Lockheed Martin” (Ewing). Katherine Johnson is a shining star in the space program demonstrating the character of a real and inspiring hero.

Works Cited

Ewing, Jack. “Katherine G. Johnson.” Great Lives from History: African Americans, Dec. 2010, p. 94. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b6h&AN=58003078&site=brc-live.

"Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 61, Gale, 2007. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606003687/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=89ba5ab9. Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.

"Katherine Johnson." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 37, Gale, 2017. Student Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631010638/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=296a5655. Accessed 30 Apr. 2019.

Loff, Sarah. “Katherine Johnson Biography.” NASA, NASA, 22 Nov. 2016, www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography.