Did John Glenn really ask for that?
In Hidden Figures when John Glenn's rocket was about to be launched into space there was some uncertainty regarding the calculation results provided by IBM 7090. Al Harrison was discussing this with the astronaut:
AL HARRISON (ON PHONE)
The IBM has been spot on up to this point, John, but we’ll run it again, see what it comes up with.
JOHN GLENN ON THE PHONE AT THE CAPE
To be honest with you, Al...when I fly, I fly the machine and now I feel like the machines are flying me.
AL HARRISON
We’re on the same page. We’re staying on the ground until this works out our way. Stay tuned.
JOHN GLENN
Let’s get the girl to check the numbers.
AL HARRISON
The girl?
JOHN GLENN
Yes, sir. The smart one. If she says they’re good, I’m ready to go.
I'm curious if Glenn asking specifically for Katherine G. Johnson is a historical fact. The movie is based on a non-fiction book of the same name, I'm wondering if this event is described there or in any other source.
Best Answer
From IMDB.com trivia section:
While John Glenn did specifically request that Katherine Johnson review all of the numbers for the Friendship 7 mission before he would agree to go through with it, he did so weeks before the mission actually took place, not when the countdown to launch was nearing at Cape Canaveral.
Pictures about "Did John Glenn really ask for that?"
What did John Glenn ask Katherine Johnson to do before he orbited the Earth?
Even after NASA had electronic computers, John Glenn requested that Katherine personally recheck the computer calculations before his 1962 Friendship 7 flight \u2013 the first American mission to orbit Earth. You could do much more, much faster on the computer.Why did John Glenn have to come back to Earth early in hidden figures?
Why did John Glenn have to come back to Earth early? His heat shield was defective.Katherine Johnson talking about her experience with astronaut John Glenn
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