NASA Renames Facility After Essential Mathematician Katherine Johnson

If the name Katherine Johnson sounds familiar, then it’s a great thing! Along with a great way to continue Black History Month, and transition in Women’s History Month.

Johnson’s name and role in space travel reached the mass public due to Taraji P. Henson’s portrays of her in Hidden Figures. Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and, in 2017, NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, dedicated the new Katherine Jonson Computational Research Facility in her honor. Johnson celebrated her 100th birthday on Aug. 26.

“I am thrilled we are honoring Katherine Johnson in this way as she is a true American icon who overcame incredible obstacles and inspired so many,” a statement made by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “It’s a fitting tribute to name the facility that carries on her legacy of mission-critical computations in her honor.”

Since its inception more than 25 years ago, NASA’s IV&V Program has performed work on approximately 100 missions and projects, including the Space Shuttle Program, Hubble Space Telescope, Cassini, Mars Science Laboratory, Magnetosphere MultiScale, Global Precipitation Measurement and, most recently, the InSight Mars Lander.