Katherine Johnson 1918-2020

[Orionid]

24 lutego 2020 roku w wieku 101 lat zmarła Katherine Johnson.
Obliczała i weryfikowała  trajektorie lotów kosmicznych potrzebne  do lotów pierwszych  amerykańskich astronautów.

NASA Remembers Hidden Figure Katherine Johnson
24 lut 2020


Katherine Johnson Documentary
5 lut 2018


The Woman Behind Project Mercury | Outlier | Timeline
10 gru 2020


Katherine Johnson talking about her experience with astronaut John Glenn


NASA Administrator Statement on Passing of Katherine Johnson
Feb. 24, 2020 RELEASE 20-019


NASA research mathematician Katherine Johnson is photographed at her desk at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Born on Aug. 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Johnson worked at Langley from 1953 until her retirement in 1986. Credits: NASA

The following is a statement from Administrator Jim Bridenstine on the passing of NASA legend Katherine Johnson, who worked for the agency from 1953 to 1986.

“NASA is deeply saddened by the loss of a leader from our pioneering days, and we send our deepest condolences to the family of Katherine Johnson. Ms. Johnson helped our nation enlarge the frontiers of space even as she made huge strides that also opened doors for women and people of color in the universal human quest to explore space. Her dedication and skill as a mathematician helped put humans on the moon and before that made it possible for our astronauts to take the first steps in space that we now follow on a journey to Mars. Her Presidential Medal of Freedom was a well-deserved recognition.

“At NASA we will never forget her courage and leadership and the milestones we could not have reached without her. We will continue building on her legacy and work tirelessly to increase opportunities for everyone who has something to contribute toward the ongoing work of raising the bar of human potential.”
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-administrator-statement-on-passing-of-katherine-johnson

Pionierka NASA: Katherine Johnson | National Geographic

[Orionid]

Katherine Johnson, NASA mathematician who calculated astronauts' trajectories, dies at 101


Mathematician Katherine Johnson, seen here in 1966, worked as a "human computer" at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia, helping to calculate astronat trajectories. Johnson, died on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at the age of 101. (NASA)

February 24, 2020 — Katherine Johnson, a once-"hidden figure" who calculated and verified the trajectories for NASA's early astronauts' spaceflights, has died at the age of 101.

Johnson's death on Monday (Feb. 24) was confirmed by NASA.

"NASA is deeply saddened by the loss of a leader from our pioneering days, and we send our deepest condolences to the family of Katherine Johnson," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. "Ms. Johnson helped our nation enlarge frontiers of space even as she made huge strides that also opened doors for women and people of color in the universal human quest to explore space."

"We will never forget her courage and leadership and the milestones we could not have reached without her," said Bridenstine.

As dramatized in the 2016 feature film "Hidden Figures," Johnson was among the group of African American women at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia who in the late 1950s and early 1960s worked as "human computers," performing the mathematics to support the work of the Space Task Group prior to the advent of the electronic devices. Johnson's work directly contributed to the success of the first U.S. spaceflights by astronauts Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom in 1961.

Johnson then helped verify the trajectory calculations produced by room-size IBM computers for John Glenn's Feb. 20, 1962 launch to become the first American to orbit Earth.


In 1960, Katherine Johnson became the first woman in Langley's flight research division to be credited as an author on a report. Her work detailed calculating the orbit of a spacecraft where the site of its landing was predetermined. (NASA)

"If she says the numbers are good, I am ready to go," said Glenn, according to Margot Lee Shetterly, in her book "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race" (William Morrow, 2016), which served as the basis for the movie starring Taraji P. Henson as Johnson.

"My life's honor to tell the story of Katherine Johnson's contributions to NASA, science, our country and Hampton Roads, Virginia," Shetterly wrote on Twitter on Monday. "Her brilliance helped us to see and celebrate other hidden figures in history."

"I will forever be honored to have been a part of bringing your story to life," wrote Henson on Instagram. "You/your story was hidden and thank god you are hidden no more."

Johnson continued to work for NASA through 1986, devising and overseeing the calculations needed for the success of the Apollo moon landings, the start of the space shuttle program and the deployment of the Earth Resources Satellite (later renamed Landsat). When addressing her own contributions to space exploration, Johnson she was most proud of the work she did to synch the Apollo lunar module with the command and service module as the two spacecraft orbited the moon.

Born on Aug. 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Katherine Coleman Johnson excelled at math from a young age. By 13, she was attending the high school on the campus of historically-black West Virginia State College, where she later graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1937.

Initially taking a teaching position at a nearby public school, Johnson was chosen by West Virginia State's president to be one of three black students to integrate West Virginia's graduate schools. Johnson left West Virginia University after one session, though, to start a family.

In 1953, after moving her family to Newport News, Virginia, Johnson accepted a position in the all-black West Area Computing section of the Langley Aeronautical Research Laboratory, supporting the work being done for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Assigned to the flight research division, she spent four years analyzing data from flight tests and working on the investigation of a plane crash caused by wake turbulence.

Johnson then transitioned to supporting the Space Task Group as NASA took over the work at Langley in 1958. Two years later, she and engineer Ted Skopinski co-authored a paper that laid out the equations for describing an orbital spaceflight in which the landing position of the spacecraft was specified. It was the first time that a woman in the flight research division received credit as an author of a report.

Over the course of her next 25 years with NASA, Johnson authored or coauthored another 25 research reports.

After Shetterly's book and the 20th Century Fox film brought her story to light, Johnson, then 97, began being celebrated for her contributions to NASA. No longer a "hidden figure," Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015.


Katherine Johnson watches the premiere of "Hidden Figures," the 2016 20th Century Fox Film about her and her fellow "computers" at NASA's Langley Research Center. (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

"If you think your job is pressure packed, hers meant that forgetting to 'carry the one' might send someone floating off into the solar system," said Obama. "Katherine was a pioneer who broke the barriers of race and gender, showing generations of young people that everyone can excel in math and science and reach for the stars."


President Barack Obama presented Katherine Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, as professional baseball player Willie Mays looked on. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

In 2016, NASA honored Johnson by naming Langley's then-new Computational Research Facility for her. In 2019, the roadway in front of NASA's headquarters in Washington, DC was renamed "Hidden Figures Way," partly in Johnson's honor.

In 2018, West Virginia State University dedicated a scholarship and unveiled a statue honoring Johnson. That same year, Mattel released a Barbie doll that was styled after Johnson as part of its "Inspiring Women" series.

In 2019, Congress voted to award Johnson and three of her fellow "hidden figures" with the Congressional Gold Medal.

"Thank you so much for your attention and your kindness, but more than that I am so happy that you are now giving more recognition to women for the work they have done," said Johnson in 2016. "I thank you for recognizing that women have long been doing a lot of the work."

Johnson is survived by two daughters, Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore; six grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by another daughter, Connie Garcia, in 2010; her first husband, James Goble, in 1956 and her second husband, James Johnson, in 2019.

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-022420a-katherine-johnson-hidden-figure-obituary.html

[ekoplaneta]

Wieczne odpoczywanie racz Jej dać Panie a światłość wiekuista niechaj Jej świeci....

[Orionid]

W wieku 101 lat zmarła Katherine Johnson. To dzięki niej Apollo 11 wylądował na Księżycu
ŁSK 24.02.2020 19:25

Była wybitną matematyczką i jednym z niewielu czarnoskórych naukowców w NASA w latach 60. Dzięki jej pracy misja Apollo powiodła się - zgodnie z jej wyliczeniami Neil Armstrong wylądował w 1969 r. bez kraksy na Księżycu.


Katherine Johnson, wybitna matematyczka NASA zmarła w wieku 101 lat  Agencja Gazeta / Gazeta.pl

Jak donosi "New York Times", 24 lutego 2019 r. w wieku 101 lat zmarła Katherine Johnson. Odeszła w domu spokojnej starości w Newport News w stanie Wirginia. Ponad 50 lat wcześniej, jako wybitny matematyk i jeden z niewielu afroamerykańskich naukowców w NASA, wyliczyła dokładne trajektorie, dzięki którym Apollo 11 wylądował w 1969 r. na Księżycu, a Neil Armstrong mógł wykonać swój słynny spacer po naszym satelicie. By wykonać skomplikowane wyliczenia miała do dyspozycji jedynie ołówek, prosty suwak logarytmiczny i swój wybitny umysł.

Nieznany bohater kosmicznego wyścigu

Katherine Johnson, pomimo swoich niepodważalnych osiągnięć, była osobą nierozpoznawalną i mało znaną nawet w NASA, z którą związana była od 1953 r. Wykorzystując swoją wiedzę z geometrii analitycznej pracowała nad obróbką matematyczną danych z rejestratorów lotu. Od 1958 r., gdy ówczesna NACA została przekształcona w NASA, jej głównym zajęciem jako matematyka była technologia lotnictwa i kosmonautyki. Nie stała się ikoną wyścigu kosmicznego, choć to dzięki jej pracy człowiek mógł bezpiecznie polecieć pierwszy raz w kosmos. I wrócić. Jako obliczeniowiec współpracowała nie tylko przy misjach Apollo, ale także przy programie Mercury.

Przygotowywała również karty nawigacyjne dla astronautów na wypadek awarii sprzętu elektronicznego. Gdy NASA użyła po raz pierwszy komputera do wyznaczenia orbity misji Mercury-Atlas 6, pilot John Glenn poprosił, aby to Katherine Johnson zweryfikowała poprawność obliczeń maszyny. Dzięki jej kartom nawigacyjnym dramatyczna misja Apollo 13 mogła powrócić bezpiecznie na Ziemię. Na emeryturę odeszła w 1986 r. w wieku 68 lat. W 2015 r. została odznaczona Prezydenckim Orderem Wolności, który wręczył jej prezydent Barack Obama. Zmarła dziś w wieku 101 lat. Jej historię opowiada nominowana w 2017 r. do Oscara ekranizacja książki pod tytułem "Ukryte działania".

https://next.gazeta.pl/next/7,151243,25727471,w-wieku-101-lat-zmarla-katherine-johnson-to-dzieki-niej-apollo.html

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/katherine-johnson-who-gained-fame-from-the-movie-hidden-figures-has-died/

https://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=2500.msg103348#msg103348

Artykuły astronautyczne

[Orionid]

‘Human computer’ Katherine Johnson dies at 101
By Justine Calma@justcalma  Feb 24, 2020, 11:54 am EST

She was the inspiration for the movie Hidden Figures and calculated the flight paths for NASA’s early missions


Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images
(...)


In an interview, she was asked what she’d tell young engineers working in the building that bears her name. “Do your best, but like it,” Johnson said. “If you don’t like it, shame on you.”

“I like work. I like the stars and the stories we were telling and it was a joy to contribute to the literature that was going to be coming out. But little did I think it would go this far,” Johnson said in the 2017 interview.

“If you think your job is pressure-packed, [Johnson’s] meant that forgetting to carry the ‘1’ might send somebody floating off into the solar system,” Obama said when Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “Katherine was a pioneer who broke the boundaries of race and gender, showing generations of young people that everyone can excel in math and science and reach for the stars,” he said.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/24/21150657/katherine-johnson-nasa-hidden-figures-death-human-computer

Celebrating the Life and Career of Katherine Johnson
Feb. 24, 2020



(...) In this image, she celebrates her 98th birthday, where a historical marker and bench were unveiled to mark the occasion. The event took place by the Virginia Air and Space Center at NASA Langley’s visitor center.

Image Credit: NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/celebrating-the-life-and-career-of-katherine-johnson

[Orionid]

Nie żyje Katherine Johnson - słynna matematyczka i obliczeniowiec NASA
25.02.2020


Fot. EPA/ NASA/Bill Ingalls 24.11.2015

W wieku 101 lat zmarła Katherine Johnson - amerykańska matematyczka i obliczeniowiec pracująca dla NASA - poinformowała m.in. amerykańska agencja. Zajmowała się wyliczaniem m.in. trajektorii lotów dla obiektów wysyłanych przez NASA w kosmos w programach Mercury i Apollo.

Narodowa Agencja Aeronautyki i Przestrzeni Kosmicznej (NASA) podkreśla "pionierskiego ducha" i wkład Johnson w rozwój nauki i lotów kosmicznych. "Jej poświęcenie i zdolności matematyczne pomogły człowiekowi wylądować na Księżycu" - napisała agencja na jednym z oficjalnych profili na Twitterze. "Katherine Johnson pomogła nam wejść w nową erę eksploracji kosmosu i zawsze będziemy za to wdzięczni" - pisze NASA.

Urodziła się w 1918 roku w miasteczku White Sulphur Springs w amerykańskim stanie Wirginia Zachodnia. Od dziecka przejawiała zdolności matematyczne. Ze względu na brak w pobliżu szkoły, która przyjmowałaby dzieci afroamerykańskie, uczyła się - dzięki wysiłkom rodziców - w placówce oddalonej od rodzinnego domu o ponad 190 km.

Studia na West Virginia State University ukończyła w wieku 18 lat. Odbyła na nich wszystkie oferowane kursy matematyczne. Najpierw pracowała jako nauczycielka, jednak w 1952 roku, kiedy dowiedziała się że NASA (wówczas NACA - National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, amerykański komitet doradczy do spraw aeronautyki) poszukuje do pracy matematyków, przystąpiła do rekrutacji i w 1953 roku rozpoczęła pracę w Agencji. Do 1958 roku pracowała jako obliczeniowiec, ale potem przeniesiono ją do działu planowania i kontroli lotów.

W swojej zawodowej karierze obliczyła m.in. okna startowe i trajektorię lotu statku Alana Sheparda w pierwszej amerykańskiej misji załogowej Mercury-Redstone 3 w 1961 roku. Przy jego powrocie na Ziemię dokonała kalkulacji pozwalających odnaleźć miejsce lądowania kapsuły. Przygotowywała też karty nawigacyjne dla astronautów na wypadek awarii sprzętu elektronicznego. W 1969 była zaangażowana w zaplanowanie pierwszego załogowego lotu na Księżyc w misji Apollo 11. W 1970 przygotowane przez nią awaryjne karty nawigacyjne i obliczane doraźnie mapy astronomiczne pomogły w bezpiecznym powrocie misji Apollo 13. Na emeryturę przeszła w 1986 roku.

Była jedną z bohaterek książki i filmu "Ukryte działania" z 2016 roku. W filmie pokazano, jak słynny astronauta John Glenn - pierwszy Amerykanin, który krążył Ziemię - oświadcza, że nie podejmie się wykonania misji, jeśli wcześniejszych obliczeń komputerów nie sprawdzi "ta mądra", czyli właśnie Katherine. W filmie pokazane są historie trzech kobiet nauki, które odniosły sukces i przełamały społeczną nieufność. Wśród nich - oprócz Johnson - znalazły się też: Dorothy Vaughan - pierwsza Afroamerykanka, która zajmowała w NASA stanowisko administracyjne i Mary Jackson - pierwsza w historii NASA czarnoskóra kobieta inżynier.

W 2016 jeden z budynków NASA w Langley Research Center nazwano na cześć matematyczki: Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility. W 2015 została uhonorowana Prezydenckim Medalem Wolności z rąk Baracka Obamy. (PAP)
http://naukawpolsce.pap.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C80848%2Cnie-zyje-katherine-johnson-slynna-matematyczka-i-obliczeniowiec-nasa.html

[Orionid]

Senate passes resolution in honor of NASA pioneer Katherine Johnson
February 28th, 1:28 PM EST Updated: February 28th, 6:35 PM EST By Michael Caldwell


In this Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, Katherine Johnson, the inspiration for the film, "Hidden Figures," poses in the press room at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) Associated Press

WASHINGTON (CBS19 NEWS) -- The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution to honor Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, a NASA pioneer who passed away Monday at the age of 101.

The resolution was sponsored by Senators Mark Warner, D-VA, and Tim Kaine, D-VA, along with Senators Joe Manchin, D-WV, and Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV.

Warner's statement:

Katherine Johnson was essential to NASA’s success in the Space Race. But as an African-American woman working at Langley Research Center in the era of Jim Crow, she went unrecognized for decades. Thankfully this trailblazer lived to see the recognition she deserved – including a blockbuster movie, a Congressional Gold Medal, and a building named in her honor on the campus where she was once forced to use separate facilities because of the color of her skin. Katherine Johnson’s life is evidence that we as a nation must continue to strive towards equality of opportunity for all our citizens. While she is no longer with us, Katherine Johnson will continue to inspire generations of Americans, especially young women thinking of careers in math and science.

Kaine's statement:

Katherine Johnson’s pioneering contributions to orbital mechanics helped our nation reach the stars. As one of the first African American women to work as a NASA scientist, she paved the way for generations to come. This resolution is a small reminder of her amazing contributions.


Manchin's statement:

A White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia native, Katherine Johnson not only completed groundbreaking work at NASA during the space race, but also broke the barriers of race and gender during a critical time in our nation. Katherine graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia State College in 1937 with degrees in mathematics and French and became the first African-American woman to attend graduate school at West Virginia University. She began her work as a mathematician for NASA, eventually running the equations that sent the first American astronaut to orbit Earth. Because of the accomplishments of intellectual leaders like Katherine Johnson, more young women have, and will, blaze their own trails in science, technology, engineering, and math fields, and will continue to make our state and entire nation proud. We cannot thank Katherine enough for her contributions to our state and our nation and she will be missed greatly by us all.

Capito's statement:

Katherine Johnson proved to us that no obstacle is too high if you work hard and believe in your goals. As a West Virginian, Katherine used her toughness and grit to surpass societal barriers and turn her dreams into a reality. The legacy of Katherine Johnson will be remembered every time we look up at the moon and remember how her work took us there for the first time. As the first female U.S. Senator from West Virginia, I am not only continuously inspired by Katherine’s story, but I am also inspired by her kindness and humility. Generations of little girls who also aspire to reach the stars will draw strength and encouragement from Katherine’s legacy. Her work is no longer hidden by the shadows of the men she put on the moon. Katherine Johnson will forever be a star in the Mountain State and will be significantly missed by all.


NASA Administrator also Jim Bridenstine spoke about Johnson:

NASA is deeply saddened by the loss of a leader from our pioneering days, and we send our deepest condolences to the family of Katherine Johnson. Ms. Johnson helped our nation enlarge the frontiers of space even as she made huge strides that also opened doors for women and people of color in the universal human quest to explore space. Her dedication and skill as a mathematician helped put humans on the moon and before that made it possible for our astronauts to take the first steps in space that we now follow on a journey to Mars. Her Presidential Medal of Freedom was a well-deserved recognition. At NASA we will never forget her courage and leadership and the milestones we could not have reached without her. We will continue building on her legacy and work tirelessly to increase opportunities for everyone who has something to contribute toward the ongoing work of raising the bar of human potential.

President Donald Trump signed into law bipartisan legislation to award Johnson the Congressional Gold Medal, along with her fellow “Hidden Figures” Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Dr. Christine Darden on Nov. 8, 2019.

https://www.cbs19news.com/story/41832827/senate-passes-resolution-in-honor-of-nasa-pioneer-katherine-johnson

[Orionid]

Celebrating the Life of Katherine Johnson
March 7, 2020



A Celebration of Life service was held on Saturday, March 7, 2020 for NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson at the Hampton University Convocation Center. Johnson's life and career were the subject of the movie 'Hidden Figures.'


https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/celebrating-the-life-of-katherine-johnson

Memorial service celebrates legacy of Katherine Johnson


NASA Trailblazer: Katherine Johnson | National Geographic
4 lut 2021


2 26.08.2023
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson
https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography/

#OTD in 1918, Katherine Johnson was born. As a mathematician who calculated trajectories for some of NASA’s most important missions, her contribution to history cannot be overstated, though it was overlooked for decades. More on Johnson: http://s.si.edu/2Tdfxya

https://twitter.com/airandspace/status/1695455834094927912

2a)
https://twitter.com/NASAhistory/status/1761405637517279534

Today we remember mathematician Katherine Johnson who passed away #OTD in 2020 at the age of 101. Best known for her trajectory analysis of John Glenn's Friendship 7 space flight, Johnson worked at @NASA_Langley for 33 years! #BlackHistoryMonth
👉 https://go.nasa.gov/49jV7Jv

3) 24.11.2015 Katherine Johnson została uhonorowana Prezydenckim Medalem Wolności, najwyższym cywilnym odznaczeniem w USA.
https://twitter.com/NASAhistory/status/1728065957501767783

Mathematician Katherine Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, #OTD in 2015.
Johnson's calculations of orbital mechanics were critical to the success of @NASA's first crewed spaceflights. ✏️  https://go.nasa.gov/3MRElIH

https://twitter.com/airandspace/status/1728126381119119387

On #TDIH in 2015, pioneering NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor: https://s.si.edu/40QI27h

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/katherine-johnson-awarded-presidential-medal-freedom-2015-69178966

https://www.national-geographic.pl/artykul/nie-zyje-katherine-johnson-jej-pracy-zawdzieczamy-ladowanie-na-ksiezycu
https://krytykapolityczna.pl/swiat/wezcie-dziewczyne-niech-ona-to-policzy-kim-byla-katherine-johnson/
https://www.nasa.gov/people-of-nasa/katherine-johnson-biography/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson