The press and the public are growing impatient with NASA and Project Mercury. Russia completes a seventeen-orbit mission while the Mercury engineers iron out a series of problems. Finally, in July of 1962, Project Mercury is ready to launch its first astronaut into Earth orbit: John Glenn. Like most pilots, he instinctively mistrusts fully automated flight. Similarly, with data analysis, he wants to see a human being at the controls. “Get the girl to check the numbers,” he says—the one he has heard about and occasionally seen in the halls at Langley. He means Katherine. After a day and a half of work, she has confirmed the IBM machines’ output. The launch proceeds.

As Glenn circles the Earth, an indicator signals possible trouble with a heat shield. During reentry, the capsule wobbles, and Glenn must make manual corrections. In the end, however, he lands safely. Three weeks later, thirty thousand people turn out for a parade through Hampton and Newport News. Glenn is the hero, but word in the Black community has gotten around about Katherine’s contribution. The Pittsburgh Courier runs her photo on the front page.