Sharon Caples McDougle is an American retired spacesuit technician for

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

, crew chief, and manager of the Space Shuttle Crew Escape Equipment Processing department. She is the first Black woman to serve in these roles.

Early life and education

Sharon Caples McDougle was born in Moss Point, Mississippi. In 1982, she joined the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

after graduating from Moss Point High School.

Career

From 1982 to 1990 she worked as an Aerospace Physiology Specialist at Beale Air Force Base in California. She was responsible for training

SR-71 The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a Range (aeronautics), long-range, high-altitude, Mach number, Mach 3+ military strategy, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporati ...

and U-2 pilots in hypobaric and hyperbaric operations. McDougle specialized in working with pressure suits. She fitted the suits to individual pilots and suited up the pilots for training flights and missions. Between missions, she inspected and maintained pressure suits and survival equipment. McDougle traveled to England, Greece, Korea, and Japan in support of SR-71 and U-2 operations. During her service, she received numerous awards including the Humanitarian Service Medal and was recognized as Airman of the Month. Sharon McDougle checking Air Force Suit

After leaving the Air Force with an honorable discharge, McDougle transferred her special skills to the US space program. In 1990, she joined the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

Crew Escape Equipment (CEE) department of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

Aerospace Operations, a contractor for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

. Her first mission was

STS-37 STS-37, the thirty-ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the eighth flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'', was a six-day mission with the primary objective of launching the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), the sec ...

. She suited up

Mae Jemison Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. Je ...

, the first Black woman in NASA's astronaut corps, for

STS-47 STS-47 was the 50th NASA Space Shuttle mission of the program, as well as the second mission of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission mainly involved conducting experiments in life and material sciences inside Spacelab-J, a collaborativ ...

. McDougle led the first all-women team of spacesuit technicians in support of

STS-78 STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project. The mission used the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', which lifted off succe ...

Sharon McDougle and Mae Jemison in KSC Suit Room

McDougle worked with NASA's Launch and Entry Suits. She maintained and repaired spacesuits and dressed astronauts for training events and space missions. She was the first Black person and second woman to work as a spacesuit technician. She was promoted in 1994 to CEE Crew Chief and again in 2004 to Manager of the CEE Department. McDougle retired in 2012 following the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.

Awards and honors

Sharon Caples McDougle received the

Silver Snoopy award The Silver Snoopy award is a special honor awarded to NASA employees and contractors for outstanding achievements related to human flight safety or mission success. The award certificate states that it is "In Appreciation" "For professionalism, d ...

in 2001. Mississippi Trailblazers recognized McDougle with its Dr. Cindy Ayers "Legacy" Award and Calvin "Buck" Buchanan "First" Award.

References

External links

* NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Edite
Oral History Transcript
Sharon Caples McDougle Interviewed by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal Houston, Texas – 9 July 2010: * McDougle's persona
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDougle, Sharon Created via preloaddraft NASA people Women in the United States Air Force People from Mississippi Year of birth missing (living people) Living people