NASA Scientist Katherine Johnson Passes Away at Age 101

NASA scientist Katherine Johnson has passed away on Monday. She was 101.

Katherine Johnson was famously depicted in the Oscar-nominated 2016 film "Hidden Figures" which followed the trailblazing black women whose work at NASA was integral during the Space Race.

According to NASA, Johnson worked on the Space Shuttle and the Earth Resources Satellite, and authored or coauthored 26 research reports.

She was also responsible for calculating or helping to calculate space trajectories for multiples space flights including Apollo 11’s 1969 flight to the moon.

Johnson "was an American hero and her pioneering legacy will never be forgotten," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine wrote on Twitter.

In 2015, President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.