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Hampton woman featured in ‘Hidden Figures’ honored at the Oscars

Posted at 9:38 PM, Feb 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-26 21:41:08-05

LOS ANGELES, Calif – One of the women featured in the film Hidden Figures was honored on stage during the 89th Academy Awards.

Katherine Johnson was invited on stage by Taraji P. Henson before she and Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe announced the winner of the award for Documentary Feature.

Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson

Johnson, portrayed in the film by Henson, calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Johnson also confirmed, by hand, the launch calculations for John Glenn, the first American to circle the globe in 1962.

“It was a piece of cake,” Johnson told News 3 about her time working for NASA in Hampton.

Click here to watch our interview with Johnson.

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Celebs walk the red carpet at the 89th Academy Awards