Honoring Black Space Pioneers: Katherine Johnson
February 10, 2023
This Black History Month,
we want to honor those who paved the way for scientific advancement today and whose work has directly impacted what we're doing now to enable sustainable growth for the new space economy.
Our first honoree is Katherine Johnson, one of the first Black women to work as a NASA scientist.
You may recognize her from the award-winning film Hidden Figures, in which she was portrayed by the talented Taraji P. Henson.
Her calculations of orbital mechanics were essential to the success of America’s first, and subsequent, crewed spaceflights, ultimately allowing us to land on the moon.
Without Katherine, space exploration may not have been possible, limiting our ability to send satellites to space and constraining our knowledge of climate, weather, our planet, and ourselves.
