Katherine Coleman Johnson

Katherine Johnson was a West Virginia State University mathematician whose orbital calculations at NASA helped send American astronauts into space and bring them home. Her work on Project Mercury and the Apollo missions later reached a wide public through Hidden Figures.

Calculated trajectories for early NASA crewed flights, including John Glenn’s orbit.
Her work supported Apollo lunar missions and later spaceflight programs.
Inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2000.