Black History Month: Sharon McDougle ‘suited up’ the first black woman to travel into space
McDougle was a ‘suit tech’ for Dr. Mae Jemison’s historic mission
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However, many are unaware that another African American woman was also part of this historic mission.
Her name is Sharon McDougle, a former suit tech for the space shuttle program who talked to Houston Life about her incredible story.
Sharon McDougle and Dr. Mae Jemison (Sharon McDougle)
McDougle was responsible for processing the orange launch and re-entry pressure suit assemblies worn by all NASA space shuttle astronauts, including Jemison.
“When I was ‘suiting up’ up Mae, I didn’t realize how big it was because I had done it for so long in the Air Force prior to coming to Houston. So, it didn’t really hit me how big (it was) until 2017 when the movie ‘Hidden Figures’ came out and people were saying ‘You should tell your story.’ I assumed everybody knew because I was in