Reaching for the Moon; The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician

[6], 248, [2] pages. Illustrations. Decorative DJ has some wear, creases and soiling. DJ has a tear sat the bottom, spine and front and back edges, repaired with tape from the inside. Some staining to bottom edge. Cover wear and tear at top edge. Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 - February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers. The space agency noted her 'historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist'. Johnson's work included calculating trajectories, launch windows, and emergency return paths for Project Mercury spaceflights, including those for astronauts Alan Shepard, the first American in space, and John Glenn, the first American in orbit, and rendezvous paths for the Apollo Lunar Module and command module on flights to the Moon. Her calculations were also essential to the beginning of the Space Shuttle program. She was known as a "human computer" for her tremendous mathematical capability and ability to work with space trajectories. In 2015, President Obama awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2016, she was presented with the Silver Snoopy Award and a NASA Group Achievement Award. In 2019, Johnson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress. The inspiring autobiography of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who helped launch Apollo 11. As a young girl, Katherine Johnson showed an exceptional aptitude for math. In school she quickly skipped ahead several grades and was soon studying complex equations with the support of a professor who saw great promise in her. But ability and opportunity did not always go hand in hand. As an African American and a girl growing up in an era of brutal racism and sexism, Katherine faced daily challenges. Still, she lived her life with her father's words in mind: You are no better than anyone else, and nobody else is better than you. In the early 1950s, Katherine was thrilled to join the organization that would become NASA. She worked on many of NASA's biggest projects including the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first men on the moon. Katherine Johnson's story was made famous in the best-selling book and Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. Now in Reaching for the Moon she tells her own story for the first time, in a lively autobiography that will inspire young readers everywhere. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated].…