Katherine Coleman Essay

Katherine Coleman Globe Johnson was born on August 26, 1918 in White Sulfur
Springs, WV. She’s the daughter of Joylette and Joshua Coleman and was the youngest of four siblings. Her father worked as a lumberman, farmer, and handyman and also worked at the Greenbrier Hotel. Her mother was a teacher. She finished the 8 th grade by the age of eighth, and her town did not offer education to African Americans after the eighth grade so her parents enrolled her at West Virginia State College in
Institute, WV. By the age of 18 she graduated college with degrees in mathematics and
French. She was married in 1939 to James Globe. Even though a career as a research mathematician is hard for African Americans and women alone that’s what Katherine
decided

Katherine was offered a job in 1953 and accepted and became part of the early NASA team. From 1953 to 1958, she worked as a what they call “computer,” analyzing topics such as gust alleviation for aircraft. She was later reassigned to the Guidance and Control Division of Langley’s
Flight Research Division. From 1958 until her retirement in 1986, Katherine worked as an aerospace technologist, moving during her career to the Spacecraft Controls Branch.
Then later moving back working directly on digital computers, her ability and reputation for accuracy helped to establish confidence in the new technology. In 1961, her work helped to ensure that Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 Mercury capsule would be quickly found after landing, using the accurate trajectory that had been established. She also helped to calculate the trajectory for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. In 1970,
Johnson worked on the Apollo 13 moon mission and when the mission was aborted, her work on backup procedures and charts helped set a safe path for the crew's return to
Earth. In Which, creating a one-star observation system that would allow astronauts to determine their location with accuracy. In a 2010 interview, Johnson