WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.120 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we're exploring 00:00:02.120 --> 00:00:06.740 a stack of sources that chronicle the just extraordinary 00:00:06.740 --> 00:00:09.480 career of Katherine Johnson, the mathematical 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.539 genius who truly earned the title human computer. 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:14.640 She really did. We're looking at her 33 years 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:16.960 of service, first to NASA and then, of course, 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:20.239 to NASA. And it's a career that spans from, you 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:22.539 know, the very earliest days of aviation research 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:25.660 right through to charting a path to Mars. It's 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:28.629 an incredible scope. It is. And our mission today 00:00:28.629 --> 00:00:31.030 is to dig into not just what she calculated, 00:00:31.309 --> 00:00:33.960 which is. mind boggling on its own. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:36.500 The paths for the first American in space, the 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:39.159 first orbital flight, Apollo 11. The moon landing. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.179 Exactly. But we want to explore how she did it 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:44.520 and maybe more importantly, how her just unwavering 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:47.399 professional competence forced these huge systemic 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:50.179 barriers of race and gender to just crumble around 00:00:50.179 --> 00:00:52.299 her. That is the ultimate takeaway, isn't it? 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:54.039 And we really need to weave that thread through 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.219 this whole deep dive because she was a mathematician 00:00:56.219 --> 00:00:59.560 of such, I mean, such profound accuracy that 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:02.460 when NASA decided to adopt the very first electronic 00:01:02.460 --> 00:01:04.780 computers, the astronauts themselves. Yeah, get 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:06.859 this. The people whose lives were on the line, 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:10.120 they were, you know, understandably nervous about 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:13.560 trusting a machine. And they insisted that Johnson 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:16.640 personally check the new digital numbers. That 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:19.560 one moment, it says everything. When John Glenn. 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:22.920 basically staked his life on her pencil and paper 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.180 calculations rather than a million -dollar machine. 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:27.959 Right. It's the perfect illustration of what 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:31.420 we are calling expertise as currency. And we're 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:33.420 going to spend a lot of time unpacking the context 00:01:33.420 --> 00:01:35.079 of that moment. Because it didn't just happen 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:37.579 by accident. Not at all. It was built on a lifetime 00:01:37.579 --> 00:01:40.439 of defying expectations every single step of 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:42.579 the way. Okay, so let's unpack this incredible 00:01:42.579 --> 00:01:44.439 journey. Let's start right at the foundation. 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:47.439 How does a young woman from segregated West Virginia 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:49.799 become the guiding force behind this base race? 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:52.540 We have to look at her beginnings. You do. Katherine 00:01:52.540 --> 00:01:55.079 Johnson was born Crayola Katherine Coleman in 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:57.140 White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, back in 00:01:57.140 --> 00:02:00.939 1918. And her background, it was already sort 00:02:00.939 --> 00:02:03.879 of geared toward education. Her mother, Joylette, 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:06.540 was a teacher. And her father, Joshua, was a 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:09.199 remarkably industrious man. He was a lumberman, 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:12.740 a farmer, a handyman. And he also held a job 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:15.319 at the famous Greenbrier Hotel. And she was the 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:17.930 youngest of four. youngest of four. And what's 00:02:17.930 --> 00:02:19.969 immediately striking from the sources is just 00:02:19.969 --> 00:02:22.669 how early her mathematical genius became apparent. 00:02:22.969 --> 00:02:25.969 And because of that, how quickly her family had 00:02:25.969 --> 00:02:28.569 to make these immense sacrifices just to nurture 00:02:28.569 --> 00:02:32.150 that talent. The sacrifices were they were systemic. 00:02:32.389 --> 00:02:35.479 They were dictated by Jim Crow laws. Greenbrier 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:37.780 County, like so much of the segregated South, 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:40.639 simply did not offer public schooling for African 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:42.719 -American students past the eighth grade. So 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:44.159 that was it, the end of the line for education. 00:02:44.539 --> 00:02:46.000 That was supposed to be it. So if her children 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.240 were going to have a high school education, her 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:50.659 parents had to engineer it themselves. And their 00:02:50.659 --> 00:02:53.280 solution was profound. They arranged for the 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:55.500 children to attend high school in a town called 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:58.240 Institute in West Virginia. Right, which was 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:00.039 located on the campus of West Virginia State 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:04.520 College WVSC, a historically black college. So 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:06.400 how did the family even manage the logistics 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.000 of that? That's a huge undertaking. It wasn't 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:11.139 just a long commute. It was a fundamental split. 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:14.840 The family had to essentially operate two households. 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:17.520 They would split their time living in institute 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:19.680 for the entire school year just so the children 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:21.939 could access the higher education they deserved. 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:25.379 That dedication. Yeah. It speaks volumes about 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:27.379 what they saw in their children, especially in 00:03:27.379 --> 00:03:30.000 Catherine. And that belief was. you know, very 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.699 quickly validated by what the sources call her 00:03:32.699 --> 00:03:35.240 prodigy status. She wasn't just catching up. 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:38.800 She was leaping ahead. Way ahead. She was. She 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.159 enrolled in high school at the astonishing age 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:44.099 of 10. 10 years old, having skipped multiple 00:03:44.099 --> 00:03:46.719 grades. And by the time she was 14, she had graduated 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.120 high school and immediately enrolled at WVSC. 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:51.900 To put that in perspective, her peers were likely 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:54.439 18 or 19 years old. She's a college freshman 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:56.180 when most kids are just starting high school. 00:03:56.300 --> 00:03:58.780 Exactly. And once she was in college, it seems 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:01.180 her potential was immediately recognized by her 00:04:01.180 --> 00:04:03.879 mentors. She didn't just study mathematics. She 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:05.879 basically exhausted the curriculum. She took 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:08.639 every single mathematics course WVSC offered. 00:04:08.819 --> 00:04:11.520 Every single one. Her intellect just demanded 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:13.800 this rigorous attention, and she was lucky to 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:16.660 have two exceptional mentors. Right. There was 00:04:16.660 --> 00:04:19.480 Angie Turner King, a chemist and mathematician. 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:21.800 Who guided her during high school and college. 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:24.819 But the truly unique relationship, the one that 00:04:24.819 --> 00:04:28.160 really shaped her, was with W .W. Schieffelin 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:30.879 Claytor. And Claytor is a huge figure in academic 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:33.660 history. He was only the third African -American 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:35.899 to receive a doctorate in mathematics in the 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:38.540 entire country at that time. An absolute giant 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:41.319 in the field. Yeah. And he was so impressed by 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:43.519 her capacity that, according to the sources, 00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:46.480 he actually created new advanced mathematics 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:49.589 courses just for her. Wait. He created new courses. 00:04:49.730 --> 00:04:52.490 Just for her. Think about that. The college curriculum 00:04:52.490 --> 00:04:55.129 itself wasn't challenging enough. So one of the 00:04:55.129 --> 00:04:58.170 nation's foremost black mathematicians customized 00:04:58.170 --> 00:05:00.389 her education. That tells you everything you 00:05:00.389 --> 00:05:02.089 need to know about the depth of her talent. It 00:05:02.089 --> 00:05:04.529 really does. So she graduates summa cum laude 00:05:04.529 --> 00:05:08.610 at age 18 in 1937 with degrees in both mathematics 00:05:08.610 --> 00:05:11.850 and French. But the journey wasn't over. She 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:13.930 married her first husband, James Goebel, taught 00:05:13.930 --> 00:05:17.800 for a bit. And then in 1939, she decides to push 00:05:17.800 --> 00:05:20.040 yet another boundary by enrolling in graduate 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:23.339 school. And this is a moment of profound, if 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:26.759 quiet, historical significance. She became the 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:28.920 very first African -American woman to attend 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:31.720 graduate school at West Virginia University in 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:34.560 Morgantown. And she didn't get there just by 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:36.800 applying. She got there because of a seismic 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:39.800 shift in civil rights law. Let's contextualize 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:42.139 that legal shift for a moment. This was a direct 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:44.899 result of the 1938 Supreme Court ruling, Missouri 00:05:44.899 --> 00:05:48.720 X -Rule Gaines v. Canada. What exactly did that 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:51.019 ruling mandate? Why was it so critical for her? 00:05:51.220 --> 00:05:53.800 So the Gaines ruling was a major crack in the 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:56.620 legal wall of separate but equal in higher education. 00:05:57.019 --> 00:05:59.120 Lloyd Gaines had been denied admission to the 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:00.860 University of Missouri Law School because he 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:02.819 was black. And Missouri had no comparable law 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:05.220 school for black students. Exactly. So the Supreme 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:07.879 Court effectively ruled that states that offered 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:10.660 public higher education to white students had 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:12.779 to offer the same quality of education to black 00:06:12.779 --> 00:06:15.220 students. They either had to create separate 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:18.019 but truly equal institutions, which was, you 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:20.139 know, almost impossible. Or they had to integrate 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:21.759 the existing ones. Or they had to integrate. 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:23.519 So the state of West Virginia was suddenly under 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:25.899 a lot of pressure. And instead of trying to build 00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:28.500 a whole separate graduate math program, which 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:30.500 they couldn't do. They were forced to offer integration. 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:33.680 They were. And this ruling created this narrow 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:36.540 but absolutely critical window of opportunity 00:06:36.540 --> 00:06:39.639 for Johnson. She was one of only three African 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:42.040 -American students selected to integrate the 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:44.720 graduate school program at WVU. And the only 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.220 woman. And the only woman. She was a test case 00:06:47.220 --> 00:06:50.180 for desegregation policy, balancing the weight 00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:53.139 of national legal history on her shoulders while 00:06:53.139 --> 00:06:56.220 trying to master advanced calculus. That's just 00:06:56.220 --> 00:06:58.379 immense pressure, especially as a young wife. 00:06:58.660 --> 00:07:00.279 And then she decided to leave after the first 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:02.600 session. The sources are really clear that her 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:05.199 departure was purely focused on family. Right, 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:06.740 she was starting a family. It wasn't academic 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:09.220 failure or racial pressure. Not at all. She was 00:07:09.220 --> 00:07:11.279 expecting her first child and chose to focus 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:14.779 on that. But the fact remains, she proved that 00:07:14.779 --> 00:07:17.480 she belonged there. She cemented her role as 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:20.279 an educational pioneer, paving the way for those 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:22.639 who would follow, even if her own time there 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:25.339 was short. She had proven her genius, taken her 00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:28.060 stand, and then prioritized her life at home. 00:07:29.520 --> 00:07:33.029 Okay, let's jump ahead now to 1953. Her daughters 00:07:33.029 --> 00:07:35.529 are older. She's ready to get back to work. This 00:07:35.529 --> 00:07:37.389 is when she enters the world of aeronautics and 00:07:37.389 --> 00:07:40.110 the legendary NACIA. Right. She returned to teaching 00:07:40.110 --> 00:07:42.730 for a while, but in 1952, she heard that the 00:07:42.730 --> 00:07:45.449 National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics NACIA, 00:07:45.649 --> 00:07:49.230 the predecessor to NASA, was hiring mathematicians. 00:07:49.329 --> 00:07:51.509 And not just any mathematicians. Specifically 00:07:51.509 --> 00:07:53.589 for their West Area Computing section at the 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:56.389 Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, 00:07:56.410 --> 00:07:58.649 Virginia. She applied, and she accepted the job 00:07:58.649 --> 00:08:02.230 offer in June 1953. This is where that term human 00:08:02.230 --> 00:08:06.490 computer truly takes on meaning. What was the 00:08:06.490 --> 00:08:09.509 day -to -day role of these women in the computing 00:08:09.509 --> 00:08:12.529 pool? I mean, the job description sounds so abstract, 00:08:12.850 --> 00:08:15.750 but the work was absolutely fundamental. It was 00:08:15.750 --> 00:08:19.069 grueling, detail -oriented work. The sources 00:08:19.069 --> 00:08:21.750 famously referred to them as virtual computers 00:08:21.750 --> 00:08:24.750 who wore skirts. I love that phrase. It's perfect. 00:08:25.209 --> 00:08:28.009 Their primary job in the early days was supporting 00:08:28.009 --> 00:08:30.699 the aeronautics division. This meant working 00:08:30.699 --> 00:08:34.139 with raw telemetry data from the plane's data 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:36.519 from the black boxes. So they weren't just reading 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:39.259 numbers. They were manually translating raw physics 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:42.330 into meaningful parameters. Precisely. They take 00:08:42.330 --> 00:08:45.269 this raw data and using slide rules and charts 00:08:45.269 --> 00:08:47.549 and just intense concentration, perform these 00:08:47.549 --> 00:08:49.769 complex calculations for aerodynamic research. 00:08:50.009 --> 00:08:52.429 For instance, some of her very early work included 00:08:52.429 --> 00:08:55.090 calculating gust alleviation for aircraft. OK, 00:08:55.149 --> 00:08:56.850 we need to stop there and explain that. What 00:08:56.850 --> 00:08:59.470 exactly is gust alleviation and why do they need 00:08:59.470 --> 00:09:01.610 human computers to calculate it? It's absolutely 00:09:01.610 --> 00:09:03.789 critical for an aircraft's structural integrity. 00:09:03.889 --> 00:09:06.389 When a plane is flying, it's constantly hitting 00:09:06.389 --> 00:09:09.009 these sudden changes in air pressure gusts. Right, 00:09:09.029 --> 00:09:11.889 turbulence. Exactly. And these gusts can stress 00:09:11.889 --> 00:09:14.370 the plane's wings and its frame in really unpredictable 00:09:14.370 --> 00:09:17.690 ways. The human computers had to calculate the 00:09:17.690 --> 00:09:21.049 precise, instantaneous adjustments needed to 00:09:21.049 --> 00:09:23.149 counteract these forces. So it's about keeping 00:09:23.149 --> 00:09:26.269 the plane stable. Stable and, crucially, making 00:09:26.269 --> 00:09:28.710 sure it didn't exceed the structural limits of 00:09:28.710 --> 00:09:32.860 the material. It was precise, real -time risk 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:35.279 management translated into pure mathematics. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:38.120 So she's dealing with the most complex, minute 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:41.799 aerodynamic forces, relying solely on her brain 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:44.980 and her tools. But she's doing this in a deeply, 00:09:45.100 --> 00:09:47.669 deeply segregated environment. That's the core 00:09:47.669 --> 00:09:50.830 tragedy and triumph of her early MPO years. Johnson 00:09:50.830 --> 00:09:52.610 was assigned to the colored computer section, 00:09:52.889 --> 00:09:55.149 which was supervised by the legendary Dorothy 00:09:55.149 --> 00:09:57.409 Vaughn. And they were subject to Virginia state 00:09:57.409 --> 00:09:59.610 segregation laws. And federal policy. So these 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:01.690 African -American women were mandated to use 00:10:01.690 --> 00:10:03.970 separate facilities, separate working spaces, 00:10:04.250 --> 00:10:06.909 separate dining areas, separate restrooms from 00:10:06.909 --> 00:10:09.370 their white colleagues. It's such a jarring contradiction. 00:10:09.690 --> 00:10:12.110 You have the brightest minds in the country solving 00:10:12.110 --> 00:10:13.950 problems that will eventually take us to the 00:10:13.950 --> 00:10:16.309 moon. And they couldn't share a water fountain. 00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:19.809 Unbelievable. Yet Johnson's personal perspective 00:10:19.809 --> 00:10:22.610 on how she navigated this is fascinating. It's 00:10:22.610 --> 00:10:25.250 so rooted in her professional identity. Right. 00:10:25.289 --> 00:10:27.529 She said that while she was aware of the segregation, 00:10:27.830 --> 00:10:31.620 she. didn't feel it in her daily work. Her exact 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:33.460 quote was something like you had a mission and 00:10:33.460 --> 00:10:34.860 you worked on it and it was important to you 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:36.860 to do your job. I didn't feel any segregation. 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:39.860 I knew it was there, but I didn't feel it. That 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:43.039 unwavering focus on the mission over the institutional 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:46.080 distraction. It seems like that was her shield. 00:10:46.220 --> 00:10:48.960 It was. And that focus, that sheer competence, 00:10:49.340 --> 00:10:52.240 is what rapidly propelled her out of the segregated 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.220 computing pool and into this elite all -male 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:58.220 domain. Her move was so fast and purely based 00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:01.820 on merit. She was assigned initially, just temporarily, 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:04.000 to the all -male guidance and control division 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:06.259 of flight research. And they very quickly discovered 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:09.659 that she possessed this unparalleled knowledge 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:11.980 of analytic geometry. Let's elaborate on that. 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:15.419 Why was that specific field of math analytic 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:18.779 geometry the key that unlocked her future in 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:21.679 space exploration? Why was it so valuable for 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:24.860 trajectory work? Well, analytic geometry is basically 00:11:24.860 --> 00:11:27.120 the study of geometry using a coordinate system. 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:30.759 It combines algebra and geometry. And for trajectory 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:33.639 work, especially in the pre -digital age, that 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:36.200 combination was indispensable. Because it lets 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:39.279 you visualize these complex paths. Exactly. You 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.700 can represent these three -dimensional orbital 00:11:41.700 --> 00:11:46.259 path circles, parabolas, ellipses, using algebraic 00:11:46.259 --> 00:11:48.820 equations. So instead of just abstract numbers, 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:51.639 she could translate the equations into plots 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:54.259 and graphs. that engineers could immediately 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:57.840 verify and understand. Precisely. For a human 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.340 computer, this was essential. It made quick, 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:02.879 accurate manual plotting and verification possible 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:05.279 in a way that, you know, pure abstract calculus 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:06.960 couldn't facilitate as quickly or intuitively. 00:12:07.379 --> 00:12:09.700 She could see the path of a capsule through space 00:12:09.700 --> 00:12:12.440 in real time on paper. And her new colleagues 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:14.879 recognized this immediately. Oh, yeah. The famous 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:16.860 anecdote is that they just forgot to return her 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:19.039 to the pool. She was simply too valuable. That 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:21.539 is a moment where her expertise truly starts 00:12:21.539 --> 00:12:24.460 to dismantle those systemic barriers. Her skill, 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:26.700 not her gender or race, became the only metric 00:12:26.700 --> 00:12:28.559 that mattered. She made herself indispensable. 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:31.440 But even after moving out of the color computer 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:35.399 section, she ran headfirst into the deeply entrenched 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:38.059 gender discrimination of the era. Right. The 00:12:38.059 --> 00:12:40.320 work was the same, but the credit wasn't. Not 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:43.139 at all. Women were historically forbidden from 00:12:43.139 --> 00:12:45.080 putting their names on official reports in her 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:47.539 division. So she'd overcome one barrier only 00:12:47.539 --> 00:12:50.620 to slam into another one. How did she break that 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:53.179 crucial policy of getting her name on the reports? 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:57.159 She approached it with the same... quiet, but, 00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:59.440 you know, firm assertiveness she used to navigate 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.340 segregation. She just demanded what she had earned. 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:05.159 She insisted on being in the meetings. The editorial 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:06.980 and review meetings, places where absolutely 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:09.980 no women had gone before. And her logic was simple 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:12.740 and undeniable. I did the work, so I should be 00:13:12.740 --> 00:13:15.419 there. She saw herself as a scientist first. 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:17.639 And the sources have a great anecdote about her 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:20.539 colleague, Ted Skopinski, that really sealed 00:13:20.539 --> 00:13:23.120 the deal. Yes, this was the turning point. Around 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:26.200 1960, she's working closely with Skopinski on 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:28.639 this major technical note. And their supervisor, 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:31.259 Henry Pearson, who was notoriously skeptical 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:33.840 of women in that high -level role, was pushing 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:36.539 Skopinski to finish the draft. But Skopinski 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:38.669 had to leave town. He had to leave for Houston. 00:13:38.830 --> 00:13:40.909 So under pressure, he basically throws up his 00:13:40.909 --> 00:13:43.590 hands and tells Pearson, Catherine should finish 00:13:43.590 --> 00:13:45.350 the report. She's done most of the work anyway. 00:13:45.590 --> 00:13:47.850 That's a brilliant move. It left the supervisor 00:13:47.850 --> 00:13:51.269 with no choice. None. Johnson finished the report. 00:13:51.450 --> 00:13:54.389 And as a result, her name appeared on that 1960 00:13:54.389 --> 00:13:58.129 NASA technical note. Determination of azimuth 00:13:58.129 --> 00:14:01.049 angle at burnout for placing a satellite over 00:14:01.049 --> 00:14:03.429 a selected Earth position. And that was the first 00:14:03.429 --> 00:14:06.250 time a woman in her division was officially credited. 00:14:06.809 --> 00:14:09.690 as a co -author a massive quiet victory that 00:14:09.690 --> 00:14:11.789 set a precedent for all the women who followed 00:14:11.789 --> 00:14:15.710 her and from 1958 onward after nasi became nasa 00:14:15.710 --> 00:14:17.710 she worked for the spacecraft controls branch 00:14:17.710 --> 00:14:20.750 right up until she retired in 1986. which brings 00:14:20.750 --> 00:14:22.549 us to the core of her historical contribution 00:14:23.070 --> 00:14:25.990 calculating the success of the space race. This 00:14:25.990 --> 00:14:28.009 is when the stakes moved from a plane's wing 00:14:28.009 --> 00:14:30.389 stability to ensuring a human life could reach 00:14:30.389 --> 00:14:32.870 orbit and return. It's a completely different 00:14:32.870 --> 00:14:35.669 level of pressure. The transition from aeronautics 00:14:35.669 --> 00:14:38.330 to astronautics was a huge leap, and Johnson 00:14:38.330 --> 00:14:40.730 was right there making the calculations for Project 00:14:40.730 --> 00:14:43.789 Mercury. America's very first... crude space 00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:46.809 effort. Right. And she was responsible for calculating 00:14:46.809 --> 00:14:49.210 the trajectory for Alan Shepard's flight on May 00:14:49.210 --> 00:14:52.629 5, 1961, which made him the first American in 00:14:52.629 --> 00:14:55.009 space. And that's more than just knowing where 00:14:55.009 --> 00:14:58.799 the rocket is going. You need precise... Timing 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:01.980 for launch windows, contingency plans. That's 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:04.220 right. She didn't just calculate the ballistic 00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:07.659 arc. She calculated the launch window, that precise 00:15:07.659 --> 00:15:10.120 moment in time when all the gravitational and 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:12.200 orbital conditions aligned for a safe launch. 00:15:12.460 --> 00:15:15.659 And the backup charts? Critically, yes. She plotted 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:17.899 backup navigation charts for the astronauts to 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:20.200 use in case of electronic failures. Remember, 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:22.700 these early missions were incredibly primitive 00:15:22.700 --> 00:15:25.320 compared to today. Her accuracy was also key 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:28.039 for search and rescue. Essential. the recovery 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:30.720 crews to quickly find Shepard's Freedom 7 capsule 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:33.620 after splashdown in the ocean. Her work in 61 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:36.299 established her reliability, but it was 1962 00:15:36.299 --> 00:15:39.320 that cemented her legendary status. This leads 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:41.320 right to that John Glenn anecdote we teased at 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:43.759 the start. The Friendship 7 mission. This was 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:45.759 supposed to be the first American orbital flight, 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:48.700 a much more complex problem. And for this, NASA 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:51.080 was finally transitioning to using these new 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:53.940 electronic digital computers to calculate the 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:56.240 orbit. But while the machines were powerful, 00:15:56.500 --> 00:15:59.059 there was this profound skepticism among the 00:15:59.059 --> 00:16:01.539 engineers and especially the astronauts about 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:04.360 their reliability. The stakes were just too high 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:08.159 to trust this untested digital future. And John 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:10.539 Glenn himself was the one who demanded the human 00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:13.960 verification. What did he say exactly? He famously 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:16.320 requested that Johnson personally recheck the 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:19.179 computer's output. His words, as they recounted, 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:21.700 were that if that girl said the numbers were 00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:24.419 right, then he was ready to fly. That girl. That 00:16:24.419 --> 00:16:27.379 girl. He refused to launch unless she had verified 00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:30.100 the machine's calculations by hand. That is just 00:16:30.100 --> 00:16:32.799 an astonishing historical footnote. The future 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:34.820 of the American space program, the nation's trust 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:36.960 in this groundbreaking million -dollar electronic 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:40.120 age, it all rested on one woman's ability to 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:42.320 work through pages of equations with a pencil 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:44.700 and paper. It completely underscores the power 00:16:44.700 --> 00:16:47.039 of reputation and competence. In that moment, 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:50.320 Johnson's proven accuracy superseded faith in 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:52.700 the new technology. And she did it. She spent 00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:55.889 days working around the clock. reproducing the 00:16:55.889 --> 00:16:58.830 computer's entire flight plan, verifying its 00:16:58.830 --> 00:17:02.210 trajectory, launch windows, everything. When 00:17:02.210 --> 00:17:04.390 she finally signed off on the numbers, Glenn 00:17:04.390 --> 00:17:07.289 flew. So her work wasn't just for Glenn's safety. 00:17:07.470 --> 00:17:09.809 It was about establishing confidence in digital 00:17:09.809 --> 00:17:12.190 computing for the entire agency moving forward. 00:17:12.390 --> 00:17:15.089 She was the ultimate quality control. She taught 00:17:15.089 --> 00:17:17.470 the U .S. space program how to trust the future 00:17:17.470 --> 00:17:20.710 by verifying it with the past. Absolutely. And 00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:23.289 as the missions grew more ambitious, so did her 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:26.079 role. She was critical throughout the entire 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.240 Apollo program. In 1969, she helped calculate 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:32.140 the trajectory for the historic Apollo 11 flight 00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:34.640 to the moon. It's a little bittersweet to think 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.240 that she charted the path for humanity's first 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:39.880 steps on another world. But she wasn't even in 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:41.779 mission control when it happened. No, she was 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:43.759 at a meeting in the Pocono Mountains at the time. 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:46.019 She recounted watching the first steps on the 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:48.019 moon crowded around a small television screen 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:50.400 with her colleagues. Even in that moment, she 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:52.299 was just focused on the next set of calculations. 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:55.380 And the next set of calculations became arguably 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:58.720 the most crucial of her entire career. The crisis 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:01.940 of Apollo 13 in 1970. Her contributions during 00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:04.660 Apollo 13 were, without a doubt, life -saving. 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:07.279 When the oxygen tank exploded, the mission was 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:09.819 aborted. Suddenly, these astronauts were facing 00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:12.519 imminent peril. Their primary navigation systems 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:14.819 were offline. They had limited power. Limited 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:17.400 everything. They needed a way to manually determine 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:20.380 their position accurately to correct their course 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:23.720 and ensure a safe return path to Earth. And the 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:25.779 sources highlight her role in creating the one 00:18:25.779 --> 00:18:28.630 -star observation system. Can you detail the 00:18:28.630 --> 00:18:30.750 problem they faced and how her system practically 00:18:30.750 --> 00:18:32.970 solved it? So the standard navigation procedure 00:18:32.970 --> 00:18:35.589 relied on sighting multiple stars, usually two 00:18:35.589 --> 00:18:38.329 or three, to get a precise fix on their location. 00:18:38.670 --> 00:18:40.529 But that was impossible. It was impossible. Because 00:18:40.529 --> 00:18:43.369 of the debris field from the explosion, the limited 00:18:43.369 --> 00:18:46.390 visibility, the power constraints, using multiple 00:18:46.390 --> 00:18:49.430 stars was off the table. So Johnson's task was 00:18:49.430 --> 00:18:52.130 to figure out how to navigate using minimal damaged 00:18:52.130 --> 00:18:56.079 resources. Exactly. She used her deep knowledge 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:58.460 of celestial mechanics and analytic geometry 00:18:58.460 --> 00:19:01.640 to devise a system where the astronauts only 00:19:01.640 --> 00:19:04.759 needed to sight one single star to determine 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:07.400 their location with enough accuracy to get home. 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:10.339 That is a phenomenal piece of rapid response 00:19:10.339 --> 00:19:13.859 applied mathematics. It is. She had to create 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:17.039 these complex charts and backup procedures that 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:18.920 accounted for all the gravitational variables, 00:19:19.220 --> 00:19:21.579 the Earth's rotation, the changing position of 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:24.019 the damaged spacecraft, and condense it all down 00:19:24.019 --> 00:19:27.500 to a single navigational input. That's the ultimate 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:30.240 test of an expert. Not just solving a problem, 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:32.740 but solving an unprecedented crisis under an 00:19:32.740 --> 00:19:35.059 impossible deadline. She wasn't just calculating 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:37.339 a path. She was calculating an escape route. 00:19:37.589 --> 00:19:39.269 That is how she saw it. She recalled the difference 00:19:39.269 --> 00:19:41.349 in focus. Everybody was concerned about them 00:19:41.349 --> 00:19:43.029 getting there. We were concerned about them getting 00:19:43.029 --> 00:19:45.650 back. Her system gave the crew the tools they 00:19:45.650 --> 00:19:47.490 needed to make the necessary course corrections 00:19:47.490 --> 00:19:49.829 that ultimately allowed them to splash down safely. 00:19:50.069 --> 00:19:52.190 Her impact didn't stop with the moon, though. 00:19:52.410 --> 00:19:55.730 Before she retired in 1986, she continued to 00:19:55.730 --> 00:19:58.250 influence the future of the agency. Yeah, she 00:19:58.250 --> 00:20:00.410 rounded out her career contributing to the Space 00:20:00.410 --> 00:20:02.930 Shuttle Program, focusing on the aerodynamics 00:20:02.930 --> 00:20:05.789 and orbital mechanics of reusable flight. She 00:20:05.789 --> 00:20:07.890 also worked on the Earth Resources Satellite 00:20:07.890 --> 00:20:10.769 Program. An early foray into studying our own 00:20:10.769 --> 00:20:14.430 planet from orbit. Right. And perhaps most futuristically, 00:20:14.609 --> 00:20:16.630 she contributed to the preliminary plans and 00:20:16.630 --> 00:20:19.730 calculations for a human mission to Mars. A phenomenal 00:20:19.730 --> 00:20:23.869 33 -year run. From gust alleviation in the 50s 00:20:23.869 --> 00:20:26.150 to charting the first steps for a Mars mission 00:20:26.150 --> 00:20:29.509 in the 80s, her career just underpins virtually 00:20:29.509 --> 00:20:32.450 every critical phase of U .S. space exploration. 00:20:32.769 --> 00:20:35.369 It really does. And that contribution, you know, 00:20:35.390 --> 00:20:37.470 it wasn't recognized with the full scope of civilian 00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:40.450 honors until much, much later in her life. Before 00:20:40.450 --> 00:20:42.410 we get to the honors, let's just briefly touch 00:20:42.410 --> 00:20:44.549 on her commitment after retirement. She didn't 00:20:44.549 --> 00:20:47.000 just fade away. Not at all. She became a major 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:49.319 champion for the next generation. She spent her 00:20:49.319 --> 00:20:51.539 later decades actively encouraging students, 00:20:51.700 --> 00:20:54.319 particularly minority and female students, to 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.920 pursue careers in STEM. She wanted to make sure 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.119 they didn't face the same barriers she did. And 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:01.400 she wanted them to understand that competence 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:04.339 was their strongest advocate. And she left a 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:07.680 massive technical legacy, co -authoring 26 scientific 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.119 papers. Okay, now let's discuss the recognition. 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:13.299 which came relatively late, really gaining steam 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:15.500 after the hidden figure story became more widely 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:18.700 known. The honors were immense, and they culminated 00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:21.500 in the highest civilian distinctions. In 2015, 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:24.299 President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:26.880 Medal of Freedom. The highest civilian honor 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:29.099 in the United States. It is, and Obama specifically 00:21:29.099 --> 00:21:32.700 said that Johnson refused to be limited by society's 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:35.579 expectations of her gender and race while expanding 00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:37.680 the boundaries of humanity's reach. And that 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:39.839 timing is important. It's just before the film 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:42.410 came out. And the honors just kept pouring in 00:21:42.410 --> 00:21:44.470 after that, including the Congressional Gold 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:47.029 Medal in 2019. And beyond the government, the 00:21:47.029 --> 00:21:49.789 aerospace community itself cemented her legacy. 00:21:50.049 --> 00:21:53.289 In 2016, she received the Silver Snoopy Award. 00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:55.759 Which is often called the Astronauts Award. It 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:58.380 is. It's for outstanding contributions to mission 00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:01.140 success. And it's a pin that has actually flown 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:04.059 into space. It really highlights the respect 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:06.640 she commanded among the flyers themselves. And 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:09.640 NASA has literally written her name into its 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:12.059 buildings, into the firmament. They named two 00:22:12.059 --> 00:22:14.339 major facilities after her. That's right. The 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:16.720 first was the Katherine G. Johnson Computational 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:20.079 Research Facility, dedicated in 2017 at Langley. 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:23.519 A powerful statement, naming a major computational 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:25.880 center after the greatest human computer. And 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.000 the second. The Katherine Johnson Independent 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:30.799 Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:34.359 West Virginia, renamed in 2019. Verification 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:36.660 and validation, the core of her life's work, 00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:39.099 permanently attached to her name. And her name 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:41.559 is now literally orbiting the Earth. It is, which 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:44.369 is just a perfect tribute. In 2020, the U .S. 00:22:44.369 --> 00:22:46.890 Space Force named a GPS satellite the Crayola 00:22:46.890 --> 00:22:50.470 Catherine Johnson. And in 2021, Northrop Grumman 00:22:50.470 --> 00:22:53.269 named its Cygnus supply spacecraft for the ISS 00:22:53.269 --> 00:22:56.289 Catherine Johnson. There was even a commercial 00:22:56.289 --> 00:22:58.410 satellite named Catherine. The cultural recognition, 00:22:58.470 --> 00:23:00.990 of course, was driven hugely by the 2016 film 00:23:00.990 --> 00:23:04.230 Hidden Figures. Absolutely. She was portrayed 00:23:04.230 --> 00:23:07.849 by Taraji P. Henson, and the film's success just 00:23:07.849 --> 00:23:10.390 brought her story to the masses. She received 00:23:10.390 --> 00:23:12.809 a massive standing ovation. the Academy Awards. 00:23:13.150 --> 00:23:15.369 It really cemented her place in the public consciousness. 00:23:15.650 --> 00:23:18.289 And that media exposure just fueled this huge 00:23:18.289 --> 00:23:21.309 wave of educational honors. She was inducted 00:23:21.309 --> 00:23:23.569 posthumously into the National Women's Hall of 00:23:23.569 --> 00:23:26.970 Fame in 2021, the National Aviation Hall of Fame 00:23:26.970 --> 00:23:30.450 in 2024. And her impact is visible at the community 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:32.549 level, too. Right. Multiple schools across the 00:23:32.549 --> 00:23:34.630 country are named for her now. Virginia, Texas, 00:23:34.910 --> 00:23:38.630 Washington, California, all over. And yes, even 00:23:38.630 --> 00:23:41.130 pop culture recognized her importance when Mattel. 00:23:41.319 --> 00:23:43.440 released a Barbie doll in her likeness in 2018. 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:45.539 That's when you know you've made it. She is now 00:23:45.539 --> 00:23:47.980 a universally recognized symbol of intellectual 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:50.740 triumph over adversity. She lived a remarkably 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:53.599 long life. She was married twice, had three daughters, 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:56.579 and lived to the incredible age of 101, passing 00:23:56.579 --> 00:23:59.480 away in 2020. Her death was met with widespread 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:02.380 national mourning. NASA's administrator called 00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:05.460 her an American hero whose pioneering legacy 00:24:05.460 --> 00:24:07.799 will never be forgotten. So what does this all 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:10.740 synthesize into? We've covered this massive breadth 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:13.559 of her career, from defying segregation laws 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:16.480 in education to calculating the safety of astronauts 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.750 returning from the moon. The summary takeaway 00:24:18.750 --> 00:24:20.690 from this deep dive is, I think, very clear. 00:24:21.269 --> 00:24:23.730 Katherine Johnson was a mathematical genius who 00:24:23.730 --> 00:24:26.250 had to fight state segregation laws just to get 00:24:26.250 --> 00:24:29.190 a basic education. Right. Yet she channeled that 00:24:29.190 --> 00:24:31.930 talent into becoming the single most trusted 00:24:31.930 --> 00:24:34.730 human asset in the burgeoning American space 00:24:34.730 --> 00:24:37.730 program. Her calculations were fundamental to 00:24:37.730 --> 00:24:40.089 achieving America's greatest technical triumphs 00:24:40.089 --> 00:24:42.369 of the 20th century. And the core synthesis is 00:24:42.369 --> 00:24:44.890 exactly where we started. That competence and 00:24:44.890 --> 00:24:47.559 mastery are not just professional skills. They 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:50.539 are powerful, tangible tools for overcoming systemic 00:24:50.539 --> 00:24:53.140 bias. Her knowledge of analytic geometry was 00:24:53.140 --> 00:24:55.960 unparalleled. Her rock -solid reputation for 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:58.700 accuracy. Those were the keys that unlocked access 00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:00.880 to the highest echelons of space exploration, 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:03.880 regardless of the era's deeply embedded prejudices. 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:07.640 Her expertise was her undeniable currency. It 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:09.920 transcended the color of her skin and the gender 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:12.700 barrier of her division. When the astronaut said, 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:16.359 I trust her numbers more than the machine, He 00:25:16.359 --> 00:25:19.759 was validating that very idea. That verifiable, 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:22.940 consistent competence is the ultimate force multiplier 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:26.000 in any career. And that leads us to our final 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:29.339 provocative thought for you, the listener. Katherine 00:25:29.339 --> 00:25:32.579 Johnson achieved breakthroughs, in part by simply 00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:35.440 asserting her right to be present. She didn't 00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:37.160 wait for permission to be invited to those editorial 00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:39.960 meetings where no women had gone before. She 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:41.940 just walked in and told people she belonged there. 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:44.559 Because she had done the necessary mission -critical 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:47.339 work. So consider this power of expertise as 00:25:47.339 --> 00:25:50.059 currency in your own professional life. How can 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:52.759 you leverage your own verified, undeniable knowledge 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:54.940 and confidence to break down barriers in your 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:57.779 field? Right. If you've put in the hours, if 00:25:57.779 --> 00:25:59.960 you've done the calculation, how do you assert 00:25:59.960 --> 00:26:03.180 your right, not politely ask, but actively demand 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:06.279 a seat at the table when your expertise proves 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:08.200 that you're essential to the mission's success? 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:10.500 Something to mull over as you pursue your own 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:12.740 big launches. Thanks for joining us for the deep 00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:15.339 dive. We'll be back next time with another stack 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:15.799 of sources.