Katherine Johnson (b. 1918) is a physicist and mathematician who has made crucial contributions to several NASA missions, assuring their success with her highly accurate calculations. She worked with NASA for several decades, and helped advance the rights of both African-Americans and women.
She initially worked as a human computer, and later as an aerospace technologist. She calculated trajectories for missions such as the 1961 Mercury mission or the 1969 Apollo 11 flight. She was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the 2016 film Hidden Figures.
