Katherine Johnson, the mathematician who was depicted in the film "Hidden Figures, has died, NASA officials announced Monday.
Johnson was 101.
NASA officials described Johnson as a “trailblazer in the quest for racial equality, contributor to our nation’s first triumphs in human spaceflight and champion of STEM education.”
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She was one of the first black female aerospace workers, The Associated Press reported.
Johnson calculated the rocket trajectories and earth orbits by hand as the space program was in its infancy. Before 1958, she and the other black women worked for the racially segregated computing unit. It is now known as Langly Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, the AP reported.
She worked on the first mission to put an American into space, analyzing the trajectory of Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 Mission and her verification of computer calculations helped John Glenn orbit the Earth safely in 1962, according to the AP.
Johnson was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.
Johnson’s accomplishments at were highlighted in the bestselling book “Hidden Figures,” and the hit movie of the same name. She was played in the film by actress Taraji P. Henson.
“They truly were hidden figures," said Mark Marquette, with American Space Museum & Space Walk of Fame. "And yet they had an important part like so many people in the background of our successful manned space program in the 1960s.”
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine spoke about Johnson’s legacy on Monday.
“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,” he said.