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 Summary

This collection consists of several items related to Sharon Caples McDougle's career as a space suit technician at United Space Alliance.

 Biographical / Historical

Sharon Caples McDougle worked as a suit technician for the US Air Force, where she supported SR-71 and U-2 pilots between 1982--1990. McDougle then went to work as a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contractor with Boeing Aerospace and later United Space Alliance on twenty space missions between 1990--2004. McDougle was the first Black woman space suit technician, crew chief, and manager of the Space Shuttle Crew Escape Equipment Processing department at United Space Alliance. She famously suited up Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel into space, for Space Shuttle Mission STS-47. McDougle retired in 2012 following the conclusion of the Space Shuttle program. During the course of her career, McDougle was the recipient of numerous awards including NASA's "Silver Snoopy" Award in 2001.

 Identifier

NASM.2022.0042

Creator

McDougle, Sharon Caples

Date

Circa 1990-2012

Provenance

Sharon Caples McDougle, Gift, 2022, NASM.2022.0042.

Extent

0.01 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of the following items related to Sharon Caples McDougle's career as a space suit technician at United Space Alliance: a 4 by 6 inch color photograph of McDougle at work posed with a space suit and signed by her with the inscription, "Let's suit up!"; two copies of McDougle's business card with her title listed as Manager, Crew Escape Equipment (CEE) IPT Processing; and a Flight Crew Equipment information sheet issued by United Space Alliance that features a photograph of McDougle at work.

Arrangement note

Collection is arranged by type of material.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Citation

Sharon Caples McDougle Collection, NASM.2022.0042, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Astronautics

Space suits

Women in Aviation and Space Science

African Americans in Space Science

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographic print

Business cards

Documents