Description |
1 online resource (1 audio file (21 min.)) : digital. |
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digital digital recording rda |
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data file rda |
Access |
Digital content provided by hoopla. |
Performer |
Read by Bahni Turpin. |
Summary |
Before John Glenn orbited the Earth or astronauts walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used their knowledge, pencils, adding machines, and writing paper to calculate the orbital mechanics needed to launch spacecraft. Katherine Johnson was one of these mathematicians who used trajectories and complex equations to chart the space program. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws were in place in the early 1950s, Katherine worked analyzing data at the NACA (later NASA) Langley laboratory. In 1962, as NASA prepared for the orbital mission of John Glenn, Katherine Johnson was called upon, and John Glenn said "get the girl" (Katherine Johnson) to run the numbers by hand to chart the complexity of the orbital flight. He knew that his flight couldn't work without her unique skills. President Barack Obama awarded Katherine Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, and her incredible life inspired the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. |
System Details |
Mode of access: World Wide Web. |
Subject |
Johnson, Katherine G. -- Juvenile literature.
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United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.
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African American women mathematicians -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.
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Women mathematicians -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.
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African American women -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.
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Added Author |
Colón, Raúl.
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hoopla digital.
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ISBN |
9781974979394 (sound recording : hoopla Audio Book) |
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1974979393 (sound recording : hoopla Audio Book) |
Music No. |
MWT12586503 |
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