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A Nasa facility in West Virginia has been renamed in honour of a native of the state whose calculations helped put men on the moon 50 years ago.
Katherine Johnson was portrayed in the film Hidden Figures and is now 100 years old.
Her calculations proved critical to the success of not only our country’s first orbit in space, but to the first steps on the Moon. Today, the @NASAIVV Facility in Fairmont, WV is being renamed after Katherine Johnson in her honor. Learn more & celebrate: https://t.co/MvTav2WeEJ pic.twitter.com/VhauU2oI4K
— Women@NASA (@WomenNASA) July 2, 2019
She did not attend Tuesday’s ceremony in Fairmont but was represented by two of her daughters, Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore.
News outlets report elected officials, the Nasa administrator and a former astronaut were at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility.
We cut the ribbon today in a ceremony celebrating the renaming of @NASAIVV to the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & Validation Facility in Fairmont, WV, after the storied NASA icon and native of West Virginia. Details: https://t.co/KqSNLs4ids pic.twitter.com/beCPQcPHLd
— NASA (@NASA) July 2, 2019
Ms Johnson worked at Nasa’s Langley Research Centre in Hampton, Virginia, as a human “computer”.
Last year, Ms Johnson was honoured by alma mater West Virginia State University with a bronze statue and scholarship dedication.
