Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The 'Human Computer' Behind the Moon Landing Was a Black Woman (thedailybeast.com)

Posted by msmash on from the more-power-to-women dept.

Reader bricko writes: The 'Human Computer' Behind the Moon Landing Was a black woman (video). She calculated the trajectory of man's first trip to the moon by hand, and was such an accurate mathematician that John Glenn asked her to double-check NASA's computers. To top it off, she did it all as a black woman in the 1950s and 60s, when women at NASA were not even invited to meetings. And you've probably never heard of her. Meet Katherine Johnson, the African American woman who earned the nickname 'the human computer' at NASA during its space race golden age.

4 of 269 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Link? by _anomaly_ · · Score: 3, Informative

    For some reason the link is on the main page, but not when you view the article. Here it is.

    --
    "I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
  2. She wasn't the only one by ihtoit · · Score: 5, Informative

    There was a pool of women (and men) at NASA who were ALL referred to as "computers". NASA didn't start using electronic computers for flight dynamics calculations until 1962, and continued to rely on the pool to crosscheck the electronic calculations until 1984.

    --
    Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  3. Re:It always seems kinda racist to me ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    She's not black, she's even whiter than Michael Jackson: picture.
    Maybe she is of African descent, I don't know. But if they want to call her black she should have dark skin...

  4. Re:I see the RACs are out in Full force today. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've worked in tech for a few years now, and while I've never heard anyone advocating discrimination against women, blacks or hispanics, I have frequently heard people advocating discrimination against men, whites and asians. So I have to agree with you that racism and sexism are endemic within tech industries.

    Fortunately, it seems that a majority still believe that people should be treated the same, regardless of their race or sex.