#KATHERINE JOHNSON NASA VS VERIFICATION#
In 1962, NASA used computers to chart John Glenn's orbit around earth, but NASA insisted on Katherine's personal verification of the math the computer came up with before allowing the John Glen to go up. In 1959, Katherine was the one to calculate the trajectory for Alan Shepard's flight, the first American in Space. Katherine was one of the few who actually had the right training and intellect, and became part of the Spacecraft Controls Branch. Katherine didn't just check the math, her math was the basis for spaceflights.
Katherine would be key to NASA and the first US Space Flights!
NASA then was specifically looking for African American women who would check the math and do calculations for engineers. But Katherine in 1953 really wanted to go back to work, and went to join the early iteration of NASA (then called NACA). Katherine became a teacher, one of the few career options for women then. She was one of the first African Americans to enroll, but could not complete due to family obligations.
Graduating Summa Cum Laude (the highest honor) with two degrees in Math and French, Katherine enrolled in West Virginia University to earn an graduate degree in Math. In College, her favorite professor created a special course in Analytic Geometry just for her. Her parents moved her family 125 miles away from home in search of the education they knew she and her siblings needed, and Katherine lived up to that dream. A natural math genius and excellent student, Katherine started school in the 2nd grade (not kindergarten), and graduated High School at 14 years of age. Katherine Johnson, born Augin White Sulphur Springs West Virginia, helped the United States go to the moon.
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