#Katherine johnson nasa young how to#

She had already taken all the advanced math classes she could so when she got to college her math professor вЂњcreated advanced math classes just for herвЂќ (Shetterly, вЂњHidden FiguresвЂќ). At age fourteen she had already graduated high school and had started college. Her choices of school were limited because she was an African American. JohnsonвЂ™s life growing up was not exactly an easy one. вЂњBlacks and whites were exploring new ground togetherвЂќ (Shetterly, вЂњHidden FiguresвЂќ). Johnson had reached a pivotal moment in history. Her coworkers respected her so much that they allowed her to be the first women to put her name on a research paper that she coauthored. At this point in her career she had gained the respect from her white male coworkers.

#Katherine johnson nasa young how to#

Since she was one of the only ones concerned about the return of the astronauts, when the Apollo 13 mission was abruptly cut short, her coworkers had to trust her because she was the only one with any calculations on how to get them back. Johnson was so academically advanced that when everyone was concerned about getting the astronauts into space, she was concerned about getting them back (Williams). Johnson worked extremely hard for her coworkers to trust her enough to allow her to give some guidance for these Apollo missions. Her work helped establish a вЂњone-star observation system that would allow astronauts to determine their location in space with accuracyвЂќ (Williams). Katherine JohnsonвЂ™s calculations were the main contributor in returning those men back to their families. Johnson aided the astronauts in safely returning to earth earlier than they had planned. NASA was attempting to land the third man on the moon however, the mission had to be aborted only two days in due to an oxygen tank mishap. Not only did Apollo 13 mean a great deal to NASA, this was also a вЂњSpace Race between the United States and the Soviet UnionвЂќ (Williams). Apollo 13 was a major and exciting event that took time and effort from every man and women in the Flight Research Division. In 1962, Johnson finalized the calculations for her greatest achievement in her career. Katherine Johnson changed the mathematics field by making an important contribution in the ability for astronauts to precisely determine their position in space. However, these hardships did not hold her back and she became known as one of the greatest mathematicians of her time.

She loved her job despite the hardships she had to endure and the unfair treatment that she received. Katherine Johnson is a resilient and brave African American that worked nonstop to prove herself in the field of mathematics. The saying, вЂњLike what you do, and then you will do your bestвЂќ holds true for one particular woman who worked for NASA during all of the Apollo trials and the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

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