NASA Dedicates a building to "Hidden Figures" Hero

For half a century, Katherine Johnson's heroics within NASA were largely hidden from the outside world. Now, her name and legacy will stay front and center at a NASA facility that epitomizes her work. The Independent Verification and Validation Facility has been renamed the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility, NASA said. "The facility's program contributes to the safety and success of NASA's highest-profile missions by assuring that mission software performs correctly," the space agency said. The renaming couldn't be more apt for Johnson, who hand-calculated the trajectory for America's first manned trip to space.

In the 1950s, before computers were widely used and trusted, human mathematicians were called "computers." And NASA's "Computer Pool" relied heavily on the extraordinarily complex, hand-written calculations of black female employees. Any little error could spell disaster. But Johnson and the Computer Pool made calculations for groundbreaking, successful space missions, including Alan Shepard's 1961 voyage -- which made him the first American in space -- and John Glenn's 1962 mission, which made him the first American to orbit Earth. But Johnson's contributions, like those of many female "computers," were often overlooked in history. That was until 2016, when the best-selling novel and movie "Hidden Figures" shined a light on their work and the challenges they faced -- including racial segregation at NASA.



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https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/24/us/nasa-katherine-johnson-facility/index.html