Trajectory
Heading 1
Dimensions: 24” H X 18” W X 1.5” D. Portrait orientation.
Acrylic paint, open-sourced printed materials overlaid with high gloss varnish.
Original Artwork $750 + shipping.
Contact artist for purchase.
Katherine Johnson
This collage celebrates the life and achievements of Katherine Johnson, who was the first female African American mathematician to calculate orbits for NASA. She was born in White Sulphur Springs, WV., on August 26, 1918. Mathematically talented from a young age, she graduated high school at fourteen and received her Bachelor of Science degree in French and Mathematics in 1932 from West Virginia State University. She joined the NACA, which was the precursor to NASA, in 1953 and was assigned to an all-male flight division where her talents in orbital mechanics made her invaluable as a genuine team member. Pictured on this collage are examples of Johnson's work which included calculating trajectories, launch windows, emergency return paths for Project Mercury and the Apollo missions. She was portrayed in the movie "Hidden Figures," which followed her life and career at NASA as a trailblazer for women of color in science. On the right of this collage is a photo of Vice President Spiro Agnew and former President Lyndon B. Johnson viewing the Apollo 11 launch. Johnson calculated rendezvous paths for the Apollo Lunar Module and the command module flights to the moon. The Apollo 11 launch is pictured in the middle of the collage to symbolize the epic nature of Johnson's contribution to space travel. Above and to the right, Johnson is pictured receiving the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award, from President Barack Obama in 2015 for her American spirit of discovery. Johnson's portrait is included in this collage to let the viewer engage with this beautiful, strong, courageous genius of a woman. She was a true advocate for women and women of color in science when there were few opportunities in an all-male culture. Johnson died on February 24, 2020, in Newport News, Virginia. To find out more about the elements used in this collage, please see an explanation below.
Elements of Art
08261918
02242020
“Approximate Solutions for Flight-Path Angle of a Reentry Vehicle in the Upper Atmosphere”
NASA insignia
Photo of Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin placing the American flag on the moon
The Geometry of satellite path over earth illustration
Apollo Lunar Landing Mission Profile
Apollo 11 Flight Profile (black and white illustration)
Computer
Orbital Mechanics
Mathematics
Aerospace
Photo of Apollo 11 rocket launch
Formula page used by Katherine Johnson (black and white sheet)
Photo of Katherine Johnson at her desk
Photo of Katherine Johnson receiving the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama
An equation used by Katherine Johnson
Photo of Vice President Spiro Agnew and former President Lyndon B. Johnson viewing the Apollo 11 launch
An illustration of Alan Shepard's Mercury spacecraft trajectory
A formula used by Katherine Johnson to calculate oblateness effects
The number 7 represents Alan Shepard's May 5, 1961, Freedom 7 mission and John Glenn's February 20, 1962 Friendship 7 mission
11 is the number of the Apollo Mission that landed on the moon
Explanation of Elements
08261918= Johnson was born
02242020= Johnson died
“Approximate Solutions for Flight-Path Angle of a Reentry Vehicle in the Upper Atmosphere” is a paper written by Jack A. White and Katherine G. Johnson in July 1964 for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This paper was one of the first-authored by a woman for NASA.
The NASA insignia is nicknamed the "meatball" and was designed by employee James Modarelli in 1959. The round shape of the insignia represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red v-shaped wing represents aeronautics, and the circular orbit around the agency's name represents space travel.
Photo of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin raising the American flag on the moon July 20, 1969. Both were part of the Apollo 11 crew and became the first men to walk on the moon. This photo was taken by the Apollo 11 Data Acquisition Camera that was mounted to the lunar module Eagle. Katherine Johnson helped calculate the trajectories and rendezvous paths of the Apollo Lunar Module of the Apollo 11 mission.
The Geometry of satellite path over earth illustration was included in a paper titled “Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite Over a Selected Earth” Position and was authored by T.H. Skopinski and Katherine G. Johnson for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1960. This was the first time a woman authored a paper at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Apollo Lunar Landing Mission Profile is a diagram of the lunar landing and timetable of events for the scheduled July 16, 1969 blastoff of Apollo 11.
The Apollo 11 flight mission profile illustration (black and white illustration) was in part created by Katherine Johnson through accurate calculations, computer simulations, and her specialized knowledge of orbital mechanics.
Human computers were employed by NASA from 1935-1970 and took on calculating work that the engineers themselves had originally done. According to a 1942 report, computing sections were designed to process test data more efficiently, relieving engineers of this essential but time-consuming work. Katherine G. Johnson started as a computer working for the precursor to NASA, NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics). She rose through the ranks at NASA and became the first woman to become an integral part of the flight research division, which calculated trajectories for spacecraft, researched the physics of airflow, and performed research for the advancement of flight.
Orbital Mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to solve the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft. Orbital mechanics is a core discipline within space mission design and control.
Mathematics is the abstract science of number, quantity, and space.
Aerospace is the branch of technology and industry concerned with both aviation and space flight.
Photo of Apollo 11 rocket launch, July 16, 1969. It was launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a mission that would days later see men walk on the moon. Katherine Johnson calculated launch and landing trajectories for this and other important NASA missions.
Mathematic formulas used by Katherine Johnson.
Photo of Katherine Johnson at her desk taken at NASA Langley Research Center in 1962.
Photo of Katherine Johnson receiving the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2015.
Copy of some of the equations Katherine Johnson needed to solve and her iterative solutions.
Photo of Vice President Spiro Agnew and former President Lyndon B. Johnson viewing the Apollo 11 liftoff from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 9:32 am EDT on July 16, 1969.
An illustration of the trajectory analysis performed by Katherine Johnson for Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 mission, which was a 15-minute suborbital flight, with a parabolic trajectory peaking at 187.5 km (116.5 miles) up and traveling a downrange distance of 487.3 km (303 miles), and finally splashing down in the Atlantic.
A formula used by Katherine Johnson to calculate oblateness effects in her Technical Note for NASA, “Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite Over a Selected Earth Position.” Oblateness is the property possessed by a round shape that is flattened at the poles. This effect has to be taken into account when calculating trajectories of spaceships or satellites.
The number 7 represents two Mercury missions; Alan Shepard's May 5, 1961, Freedom 7, and John Glenn's February 20, 1962 Friendship 7. Katherine Johnson calculated the trajectory profiles for both of these missions along with many others.
The number 11 represents the number of the Apollo Mission, which first landed on the moon. Commander Neil Armstrong, command module pilot Michael Collins and lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the crew for Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon. The success of the Apollo 11 mission was due in part to the accurate calculations, and specialized knowledge of orbital mechanics which Katherine Johnson possessed.
References:
“Aerospace Definition.” Oxford Languages, languages.oup.com/.
“Apollo 11 Image Gallery.” NASA, NASA, history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/kippsphotos/apollo.html.
by: Steven Dufresne, et al. “Katherine Johnson: Computer To The Stars.” Hackaday, 1 Mar. 2018, hackaday.com/2018/02/28/katherine-johnson-computer-to-the-stars/.
“Category:Spiro Agnew.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Spiro_Agnew.
Dunbar, Brian. “Mercury Manned Flights Summary.” NASA, NASA, 17 Mar. 2015, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/manned_flights.html.
Dunbar, Brian. “She Was a Computer When Computers Wore Skirts.” NASA, NASA, 2 May 2016, www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/researchernews/rn_kjohnson.html.
Katherine Johnson. Langley, 1962.
“Katherine Johnson.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson.
Loff, Sarah. “Apollo 11.” NASA, NASA, 16 Mar. 2015, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo-11.html.
Moon, 20 July 1969.
“NASA Insignia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_insignia.
“Orbital Mechanics.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_mechanics.
Roos, Dave. “Apollo 11 Timeline: From Liftoff to Splashdown.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 24 June 2019, www.history.com/news/apollo-11-moon-landing-timeline.
Skopinski, T H, and Katherine G Johnson. “TECHNICAL NOTE - NASA Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing A Satellite Over A Selected Earth Position.” NASA, ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19980227091/downloads/19980227091.pdf.
“The White House.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/.
White, Jack A, and Katherine G Johnson. NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Approximate Solutions for Flight-Path Angle of A Reentry Vehicle In the Upper Atmosphere. ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19640016000.pdf.