Sharon Caples McDougle, the first Black suit technician at NASA and one of the first women in the de
Sharon Caples McDougle, the first Black suit technician at NASA and one of the first women in the department, has one of the best JSC oral histories I’ve read. It includes photos from her own collection taken throughout her career, including these with her friend and colleague, astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison. The last photo is from the Women of Color in Flight gala in Chicago, 2006:“Girl, it was like the Academy Awards. They had the voice of God behind the curtain reading our biographies. They would just start off talking and wouldn’t say who they were talking about. I started listening—‘That’s my bio!’ Girl, I just cried. I couldn’t believe it. That’s one of the things I love about [Mae]; she never forgets the little people. I was honored with women pilots, women saving people on rafts, and the first African-American woman to fly fighter helicopters. She placed me in the same category as the women astronauts, but I don’t feel I’m in that league. She treated us all the same. I’m about to cry just talking about it.She said, ‘If it wasn’t for you taking care of me and my suit…’ She just makes you feel so special. Mae is so sincere when she talks to you, it’s not just one of those fake, ‘Oh, you were my suit tech; you were awesome!’ pat on the back. She really sincerely makes you feel like she really really appreciates everything. She told me she was glad that I was her suit tech. I was like, ‘Woo!’ because I just wanted it to be a good experience for her. I’m sure it was probably a little scary for her being the first African-American woman to go into space, so I wanted to do my part in making it special for her too. And for me, because I was excited about being a part of history.” -- source link
#sharon mcdougle#mae jemison#astronauts#space suits#black history