American Katherine Johnson, who played an important role behind the scenes in the American #ruimtevaart , died at the age of 101. The mathematician Katherine Johnson calculated the right moments to launch and the right routes to destinations. She determined the orbit of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon in 1969.

Astronauts like John Glenn didn't want to go into space until Johnson had checked the computation of computers. When Apollo 13's flight threatened to be catastrophic in 1970, she helped the crew to return safely to Earth. She also laid the foundation for the space shuttle program and thought along about traveling to Mars. That was exceptional, because Johnson, as a dark woman in the deep south of the United States, had to overcome many prejudices.


Brain behind lunar travel NASA pioneer Katherine Johnson died