'Hidden Figures' mathematician Katherine Johnson dies at 101

NASA research mathematician Katherine Johnson photographed at her desk at NASA Langley Research Center with a globe, or "Celestial Training Device," in 1962. NASA research mathematician Katherine Johnson photographed at her desk at NASA Langley Research Center with a globe, or "Celestial Training Device," in 1962. Photo: NASA Langley Research Center Photo: NASA Langley Research Center Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close 'Hidden Figures' mathematician Katherine Johnson dies at 101 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, featured in the movie "Hidden Figures," died Monday at 101.

Johnson, who worked at NASA from 1953 to 1986, left her mark on the agency not only through her brilliance with numbers, which helped land men on the moon, but also through her role in breaking down racial and social barriers.

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"NASA is deeply saddened by the loss of a leader from our pioneering days, and we send our deepest condolences to the family of Katherine Johnson," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. "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."

We're saddened by the passing of celebrated #HiddenFigures mathematician Katherine Johnson. Today, we celebrate her 101 years of life and honor her legacy of excellence that broke down racial and social barriers: https://t.co/Tl3tsHAfYB pic.twitter.com/dGiGmEVvAW — NASA (@NASA) February 24, 2020

Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., in 1918. Her aptitude and passion for numbers emerged at an early age. By 13, she was attending high school on the campus of historically black West Virginia State College. She enrolled in the college itself at 18, graduated with the highest honors in 1937 and took a teaching job at a black public school. In 1939, she was handpicked as one of three black students to integrate the graduate school at West Virginia University, though she left at the end of the first session to start a family, according to a NASA biography on Johnson.

As her three daughters got older, Johnson returned to teaching before starting her NASA career in 1953 at the all-black West Area Computing section at NASA' predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Working from Langley laboratory in Virginia, Johnson spent four years analyzing data from flight tests.

After the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite in 1957, starting the space race, Johnson would become the first woman in the Flight Research Division to receive credit as a co-author of a research report in 1960. The next year, Johnson did trajectory analysis for the first human spaceflight with Alan Shepard.

The moment highlighted in the climax of "Hidden Figures" occurred in 1962 as astronaut John Glenn prepared for an orbital mission. Computers had been programmed with the equations that would control the trajectory of Glenn's capsule, but astronauts were wary of these machines that were prone to hiccups and blackouts. Glenn asked Johnson to run the same numbers by hand, trusting her calculations before liftoff and the successful mission.

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Johnson would go on to work on the Space Shuttle and the Earth Resources Satellite, later renamed Landsat. She authored or co-authored 26 research reports. She retired in 1986 after 33 years at Langley Research Center.

And in 2015, at 97, Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is America’s highest civilian honor.

"We will never forget her courage and leadership and the milestones we could not have reached without her," Bridenstine said in his statement. "We will continue building on her legacy and work tirelessly to increase opportunities for everyone who has something to contribute toward the ongoing work of raising the bar of human potential.”