Washington, DC (WVDN) – “Get the girl to check the numbers.” If she says the numbers are good, astronaut John Glenn told them, I’m ready to go! This year (February 20, 2024) marks the 62nd anniversary of when America became the first nation to launch a human being to orbit the Earth, not only once but thrice. The “girl” John Glenn was referring to was Katherine Johnson, the brilliant African American mathematician, NASA Legend, and Woman of the 20th Century. John Glenn put his life in the hands of her mind instead of NASA’s electronic computers for those crucial calculations that would propel him into orbit and bring him home safely.
As we remember and honor Katherine Johnson (Aug. 26, 1918–Feb. 24, 2020) and John Glenn (July 18, 1921–Dec. 8, 2016) on this special anniversary, we must remind ourselves that this was a time during the 1950s and 1960s when our nation, and indeed the world, were caught up in an exceedingly dangerous Space Race during the Cold War with the then #1 World Power, the Soviet Union (now Russia). It was a time when the Soviet’s Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, threatened to “bury” America. A time when the threat of nuclear annihilation through an Atomic War was very real. Those of us who lived through that time remember the U.S. civil defense response of vivid “duck and cover” drills in schools, the warning sirens that rang out at any time during Air- Raid Drills to seek cover in “fallout shelters” that were built underground throughout the country in the event of a nuclear attack. The success of John Glenn’s orbiting mission was the most important stage in fulfilling President John F. Kennedy’s emotional charge that America must land a man on the moon and return him safely to secure America’s ultimate victory in the Space Race with the Soviet Union and perhaps avoiding World War III.
Katherine Johnson’s mathematical genius was crucial in helping the United States win that Space Race. At NASA, Johnson’s unprecedented mathematical calculations of orbital mechanics, calculating trajectories, were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S.-crewed spaceflights, from the U.S. first man in space, Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 mission in 1961 to John Glenn’s orbits in 1962, to the calculation of the trajectory for the historic first successful crewed 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing and subsequent Apollo missions, to the Space Shuttle program and the Earth Resources Satellite. Even after her passing during Black History Month in 2020, Katherine Johnson’s work is still used to further the success of space exploration to this day.
It is only fitting that Katherine Johnson is among the honorees to be inducted posthumously into the Women in Aviation International (WAI) Pioneer Hall of Fame for the Class of 2024 on March 23, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. The WAI was established in 1992 to honor women who have made significant contributions as record-setters, pioneers, or innovators. With over 17,000 members worldwide, WAI is the largest organization in the world dedicated to increasing the number of women working in all areas of aviation and aerospace. Katherine Johnson will finally take her well-deserved place among the honorees of 2024.
