skuemmerle

A remarkable person and outstanding American. RIP Katherine Johnson and thank you for your service.

system

After WWII when a phenomenal buildup of the flight testing mission at (then) Muroc AAF – now Edwards AFB – was occurring, NACA transferred a group of it’s female “computers” there to support the work. In 1972 when I showed up at Edwards AFB, some of them were still there and working prior to the digital revolution when computers routinely took over their work. I had the pleasure of working with a few of them reducing complex analog flight test data into usable format. All of those gals were called “computers” for a reason. We now better realize the formidable contribution they all made. What a wonderful memory of times now long gone.

RIP Katherine Johnson.