(CNN) Katherine Johnson, the woman who hand-calculated the trajectory for America's first trip to space, turns 100 today.

Before the arrival of electronic data processors, aka, computers in the 1960s, humans -- mainly women -- comprised the workforce at NASA known as the " Computer Pool ."

Black women, especially, played a crucial role in the pool, providing mathematical data for NASA's first successful space missions, including Alan Shepherd's 1961 mission and John Glenn's pioneering orbital spaceflight.

Today, retired @NASA_Langley mathematician Katherine Johnson makes her 100th trip around the Sun as she celebrates her birthday! Send her birthday wishes using #Happy100Katherine & learn about her calculations that launched @NASA_Astronauts to space 🚀: https://t.co/Iv2DqAt1LK pic.twitter.com/DVvVYnrupe — NASA (@NASA) August 26, 2018

Principal among them was Johnson. But her work -- and that of the "Computer Pool" -- barely earned a mention in pop culture space tributes.

That changed, thanks to "Hidden Figures," a best-selling novel later turned into an Oscar-nominated movie.

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