Katherine G. Johnson

A Hidden Figure of the Space Race: Katherine G. Johnson

Define the Following Terms

• contribute

• equation

• mission (Homonym)

Has anyone in classed watched the movie: Hidden Figures?

Unmute yourself and feel free to share your reflection on the movie.

Have you heard of Katherine G. Johnson? If you haven’t heard of her, it may be because she’s one of the “hidden figures” behind NASA’s work to send people into space. But she’s definitely worth knowing about! She achieved countless breakthroughs throughout her impressive career in math and science.

Johnson was born on August 26, 1918. At the young age of 13, she already showed an incredible talent for math. She was way ahead of her classmates and graduated with highest honors from West Virginia State College. She began teaching at a Black public school in Virginia.

As a Black woman growing up in the South, Katherine G. Johnson faced a lot of discrimination. She was one of three Black students to integrate into the all-white graduate schools in West Virginia. She enrolled in the graduate math program, but stopped her studies to start a family. She went back to teaching, not realizing that her career path would shift drastically.

In 1952, a relative told her about an open job in the all-Black West Area Computing section at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ (NACA’s) Langley laboratory. This laboratory was responsible for working on new flight technology, including space travel. NACA would later become part of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). She got the job and spent four years analyzing data about a plane crash while learning the ins and outs of the mathematics of flying.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched a satellite called Sputnik 1 into Earth's orbit. This was the first satellite to be sent into space. The Space Race was on! The United States began funding NASA to compete with the Soviet Union. The United States wanted to be the first country to have a successful human space flight. Katherine G. Johnson contributed greatly to this effort. She wrote research papers that laid out many of the mathematical equations necessary for space travel.

Katherine G. Johnson is probably most known for her work on the orbital mission of John Glenn. He was set to be the first American to orbit around the Earth. But he did not trust all of the electronic machines that would control the path of his spaceship. These machines would sometimes malfunction. Glenn asked the engineers for Katherine G. Johnson’s help.

He trusted her to check every single mathematical equation. She checked the numbers, and Glenn’s mission was a success! Now, there is a movie called Hidden Figures that tells the true story of how she and two other brilliant African American women made sure this mission was a triumph.

33 years of work and many research papers later, Johnson retired in 1986. She said, “I loved going to work every single day.” At the age of 97, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her important work at NASA.

Multiple Choice

What subject did Katherine G. Johnson show an incredible talent for from an early age?

• social studies

• biology

• Latin

• math

Multiple Choice

The text describes a sequence of events in Johnson’s career and life. How did Johnson’s career change in 1952?

• She went from working as a data analyst to teaching physics.

• She went from teaching to analyzing data in NACA’s laboratory

• She went from working as a librarian to working in a laboratory.

• She went from working for an airline to working for NACA

Multiple Choice

“The United States wanted to be the first country to have a successful human space flight. Katherine G. Johnson contributed greatly to this effort. She wrote research papers that laid out many of the mathematical equations necessary for space travel.”What can you conclude about Johnson based on this information?

• Johnson wanted to use her math skills to help the Soviet Union

• Johnson was prevented from using her math skills to help the United States

• Johnson used her math skills to help the United States achieve one of its goals

• Johnson’s favorite part of her job at NASA was the people she met there.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this text?

• In the Space Race, the United States competed with the Soviet Union to be the first country to put someone on the moon.

• The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, was the earlier version of NASA, today’s space organization.

• Katherine G. Johnson graduated from West Virginia State College with highest honors, which means she got good grades while she studied there

• Katherine G. Johnson worked hard and overcame discrimination to become a successful mathematician who helped with NASA’s space missions