Storyclover
Storyclover
Before the sun warmed Langley Research Center, Katherine Johnson bent over her desk and checked a row of calculations. She wanted to know where a spacecraft would travel around Earth.
Katherine Johnson Checked the Numbers That Carried People to SpaceKatherine Johnson used careful math to help plan space flights, proving that one exact calculation can guide a great journey.
1. Before the sun warmed Langley Research Center, Katherine Johnson bent over her desk and checked a row of calculations. She wanted to know where a spacecraft would travel around Earth.
2. A spacecraft could not simply point up and go. Earth was turning, and gravity was always pulling. Katherine had to follow every part of the journey.
3. Katherine worked one step at a time. She added, subtracted, and checked again. A tiny mistake could send a flight far from its path.
4. Then electronic computers began doing some of the work. They gave answers quickly, but Katherine knew that a quick answer still needed a careful check.
5. A space flight was being prepared for astronaut John Glenn. Before launch, the engineers asked Katherine to check the computer's numbers by hand.
6. Katherine checked each step, then checked it once more. The room grew quiet as her pencil moved across the page.
7. The numbers matched. Katherine closed her folder and carried the answer forward. Now the flight had a path it could follow.
8. When the flight began, the spacecraft followed the path Katherine had checked. Her careful work helped carry a person around Earth and safely home.
9. Katherine Johnson used careful math to help plan space flights. One exact calculation could guide a great journey.
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