Katherine Johnson

凯瑟琳·约翰逊

1918 – 2020美国数学

The Human Computer Behind the Moon Landing

“I counted everything. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed.”

“我数一切东西。数走到路上的步数、上教堂的台阶、洗了多少碗碟和银器。”

— From interviews, documented in NASA oral histories

Biography

Katherine Johnson was a mathematician whose orbital mechanics calculations at NASA were critical to the success of American crewed spaceflight. As an African-American woman working in the segregated South, she broke barriers daily. John Glenn personally requested that she verify the electronic computer's trajectory calculations before his orbital flight. Her story was popularized by the book and film Hidden Figures. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 at age 97.

凯瑟琳·约翰逊是一位数学家，她在NASA进行的轨道力学计算对美国载人航天的成功至关重要。作为一位在种族隔离南方工作的非裔美国女性，她每天都在打破壁垒。约翰·格伦亲自要求她在他的轨道飞行前验证电子计算机的轨迹计算。她的故事因书籍和电影《隐藏人物》而广为人知。她在97岁时获得了总统自由勋章。

Key Achievements