The Northrop Grumman space station supply ship – dubbed the SS Katherine Johnson in honor of the late mathematician whose work inspired the movie “Hidden Figures” – launched into orbit on Saturday.
Saturday marked the 59th anniversary of John Glenn’s historic launch, in which Johnson provided calculations as part of NASA’s computing pool. Johnson, along with other black women, worked at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where he processed data that played a significant role in multiple historic manned space missions, The Associated Press reported.
Ms. Johnson was selected for her handwritten calculations that helped launch the first Americans into space, as well as her achievements in breaking glass ceiling after glass ceiling as a black woman, ”said Northrop Grumman vice president Frank DeMauro, according to the AP .
DeMauro also suggested that viewers watch the movie “Hidden Figures” to learn more about Johnson’s contributions after Saturday’s launch.
Johnson died in February last year at the age of 101.
The four-ton capsule, which Northrop Grumman launched for NASA, will provide food for astronauts as well as nearly 120,000 roundworms for a muscle experiment and computing equipment, the AP reported.
Saturday’s launch marked Northrop Grumman’s 15th supply run for NASA.