John Glenn refused to fly without the work of Katherine Johnson
Barrier-breaking mathematician Katherine Johnson proved vital to NASA. She was promoted from the computing pool in 1958, joining the Space Task Force, working in an “all-male, all white flight research team.” She figured out the trajectories for Alan Shepard’s first flight and John Glenn’s flight.
Glenn specifically requested Johnson’s assistance, despite his trajectory already having been calculated by mechanized computers. Glenn trusted her calculations to produce a safe flight, saying “If she says they’re good, then I am ready to go.” He wanted to make sure his trip would be safe, and trusted Johnson’s mathematical skills over the most powerful punch-card computers of the time.
