Taraji P. Henson, who portrays Katherine Johnson in the upcoming motion picture "Hidden Figures," reads the inscription on a plaque honoring NASA astronaut John Glenn. It is located at the entrance to Launch Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was the location of the launch of Glenn and three other astronauts who flew orbital missions during Project Mercury. The movie is based on the book of the same title, by Margot Lee Shetterly. It chronicles the lives of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three African-American women who worked for NASA as human "computers.” Their mathematical calculations were crucial to the success of Project Mercury missions including Glenn’s orbital flight aboard Friendship 7 in 1962. The film is due in theaters in January 2017.
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