Mathematician Katherine Johnson has died at the age of 101. She calculated rocket trajectories and orbits for early NASA space flights, including the missions that sent the first American in space, the first American to orbit the Earth and the first men to walk on the Moon, as well as contributing early work on the Shuttle program and many other areas. She was one of the women featured in the book and film Hidden Figures in 2016.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine issued a statement including that

“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.”

Further Reading

• NASA biography of Katherine Johnson
• ‘Katherine Johnson: The brilliant woman who got the US into space’, New Scientist
• ‘Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA’, New York Times
• ‘Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician And An Inspiration For ‘Hidden Figures,’ Dies’, NPR
• ‘Katherine Johnson: Hidden Figures Nasa mathematician dies at 101’, BBC News