Watch: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae are ‘Hidden Figures’ of the space race

Behind every great man, they say, is an even greater woman.

In the case of John Glenn, the astronaut who became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962, there are three he, and NASA, have to thank: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, all African American women who worked for the space agency and were crucial to the success of its Mercury and Apollo missions. These women are the subjects of the forthcoming biopic “Hidden Figures,” the first trailer of which was released Sunday during the Rio Olympics broadcast.

Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe, “Hidden Figures” tells the story of three black female mathematicians and scientists crucial to America’s dominance in the space race. The film is the first time the contributions of any black scientists to that effort are being highlighted.

Johnson, played by “Empire’s” Henson, was a human computer — her actual title was “computer” — and calculated numbers for the agency that would become NASA. She is responsible for the trajectories used in Project Mercury and for the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. With Vaughan, played by the Oscar-winning Spencer, and Jackson, played by singer Monáe, the three were instrumental in advancing computer science in the United States. (The real life Johnson was awarded the National Medal of Freedom by President Obama last year.)

Also starring Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst and Glen Powell, the picture from 20^th Century Fox is directed by Theodore Melfi, known for 2014’s “St. Vincent.” It’s based on the nonfiction book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race” by Margot Lee Shetterly, which releases for sale Sept. 6.

“Hidden Figures” hits theaters at the start of the New Year, on Jan. 13.

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