Mississippi
Native Mississippian who made history with NASA’s space program is helping children reach for the stars
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/I3SAUEEVN5CWJC4TST7NIJPPF4.jpg "Native Mississippian who made history with NASA’s space program is helping children reach for the stars")
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures brought to light the work of three African American women in this country’s space program. There is another hidden figure who worked for NASA for over 20 years, and she is from Moss Point, Mississippi. Sharon McDougle made history and is now helping children reach for the stars.
Sharon Caples McDougle began her career in the Air Force as an aerospace physiology specialist.
McDougle said, “After I got out, I struggled as a lot of veterans do. I was about to rejoin the service because I was having such a hard time trying to find employment. And about six months out, a friend of mine that used to be in the Air Force with me, he was out here working with the space program, and he contacted me.”
That friend encouraged her to apply for a position with NASA.
“I drove from California to Texas and came down and made history as the first black crew escape equipment. And as CEE, if you ever hear me say C-E-E, that’s what I’m talking about, Crew Escape Equipment Department, first black suit technician”, McDougle said.
She says her career was thrilling and fulfilling. McDougle’s work kept the crews safe.
McDougle said, “No matter what country they came from, man, woman, whatever, they want that orange launch entry suit as a safety precaution. It was life-sustaining equipment in case they had a loss of cabinet pressure aboard the space shuttle or if they had a bailout scenario where they had to actually leave the vehicle and bailout.”
A highlight is suiting up Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel into space.
“I felt like, you know, I thought she would be more comfortable with me,” McDougle said. “Not saying nobody else could have taken good care of her. Not at all, but I thought that she should have the best.”
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McDougle’s father died when she was only four years old. When she was eight, her mother was killed in an accident a few blocks from their home.
“She was almost back home, and a driver under the influence hit her on the driver’s side with such force. It knocked her out the passenger side and knocked the hole, and this is one of those big steel station wagons. So real cars back then, you know, and knocked the seat out”, said McDougle.
McDougle, the ninth of twelve children, was then raised by her oldest sister. She has poured her life experiences and love for the space program into this book, Suit Up for Launch with Shay. Shay is her nickname.
“Everybody thinks about the white space, the spacewalk suit. You know, that’s the suit they usually think of. But now they know about the orange suit, you know, so it’s not just a costume. This is actual life-sustaining equipment”, McDougle said.
McDougle’s husband is also from Moss Point and works for the space program as a scuba diver.
McDougle plans to continue the book in a series. The honors keep coming. This weekend she will be a guest of the National Women’s History Museum for a free virtual reading and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Virginia for a live chat and book signing.
You can learn more about McDougle’s book, Suit Up for Launch with Shay here.
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NORMAN — Oklahoma starter Kyson Witherspoon put his team in position to win the program’s SEC home opener on Friday night.
The OU ace held Mississippi State to two runs, and the Sooners needed just one run in the ninth to extend the game.
Right fielder Sam Christiansen drew a walk to bring the winning run to the plate, and a wild pitch allowed Christiansen to move into scoring position for pinch hitter Brandon Cain with two outs.
Cain took a pair of big hacks, but he ultimately chased a ball up in the zone to strike out and Mississippi State held on for a 2-1 win at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
With the series opener in their back pocket, the Bulldogs moved to 15-7 overall and 1-3 in SEC play, while OU while to 18-3 on the year and 2-2 in conference action.
Mississippi State got a single from Sawyer Reeves to start the game, but Witherspoon bounced back with consecutive strikeouts.
The first inning was extended by an error by OU shortstop Jaxon Willits, however, a mistake which would come back to bite the Sooners.
With new life, Bryce Chance singled to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead after one.
Oklahoma applied some chaos of their own in the top of the second when a walk drawn by Drew Dickerson and a single from Christiansen put runners on first and second with one out.
Dawson Willis drew a walk to load the bases, but Dasan Harris struck out and Jason Walk flew out to end the Sooner threat.
Witherspoon cruised until the seventh, but OU couldn’t level the game.
The Sooners struck out eight times across the third, fourth and fifth innings, stranding just one batter in the process.
Oklahoma got two aboard in the sixth thanks to a Willits single and an error, but the home team was unable to make the Bulldogs pay for their miscues.
Mississippi State starter Pico Kohn’s day would end there as he was flawless on the mound for the Bulldogs where he allowed only two hits and would strikeout 10 Sooners in six innings of work.
The Bulldogs finally got to Witherspoon again in the seventh.
The leadoff batter, Ross Highfill, reached after a scary moment as he squared up to bunt and ended up taking a pitch to the helmet.
Michael O’Brien was called in off the bench to pinch run for Highfill, and he promptly stole second.
A deep fly out moved the runner up one bag, then Dylan Cupp’s sacrifice fly doubled Mississippi State’s lead.
OU coach Skip Johnson then withdrew Witherspoon, who was excellent. He pitched 6 2/3 innings, gave up five hits, two runs had 11 strikeouts and only walked one Bulldog.
But the Sooners immediately got a run back.
Harris gave the offense going in the bottom of the seventh when he reached on an error with two outs. Jason Walk drove in the first Sooner run of the night with an RBI-double, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Mississippi State prevented OU from taking any momentum, however, by striking out Kyle Branch to end the frame.
A clutch double play by the Sooner defense in the top of the eighth held Mississippi State off the board, but OU stranded runners in the eighth and ninth.
Oklahoma and Mississippi State will return to action in Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 4 p.m.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Robert Wright scored 19 points, V.J. Edgecombe added 16 and No. 9 Baylor squeaked past No. 8 Mississippi State 75-72 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Langston Love added 15 points and Norchad Omier had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Bears (20-14), who led by 11 points in the second half but had to hold off the Bulldogs in the final seconds — and even tenths of seconds.
Josh Hubbard had 26 points to lead the Bulldogs (21-13), who were seeking their first March Madness victory since 2008.
Wright’s driving, underhanded, left-handed layup gave Baylor a 37-32 lead at halftime, its biggest to that point. A free throw by Omier made it 60-49 with 8:10 remaining.
But the Bulldogs stormed back and cut the lead to one with 29 seconds left when KeShawn Murphy scored in the lane on a baby hook.
The Bulldogs fouled Edgecombe with 9.3 seconds left and the Big 12 freshman of the year made both.
Claudell Harris Jr airballed a 3-pointer with a chance to tie the game with 1.1 seconds left. Omier was fouled on the inbounds play and the game was seemingly over. But more time was put on the clock and Omier missed the front end of a 1-and-1. The Bulldogs grabbed the rebound with 0.2 seconds left and called timeout.
Baylor forward Norchad Omier (15) drives toward the basket past Mississippi State forward KeShawn Murphy (3) during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. Credit: AP/Stephanie Scarbrough
Hubbard’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was no good, although it may not have counted.
Takeaways
Baylor: Coach Scott Drew’s Bears entered the tournament having lost six of their last 10 games, but survived this time. It was Drew’s 21st NCAA Tournament victory.
Mississippi State: This is the third time in as many seasons that coach Chris Jans led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament. Before his arrival, the program had reached March Madness just once since 2010.
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