With the launch of space shuttle Endeavour on Friday, Charlene Blackwell-Thompson became NASA's first female test director.
Blackwell-Thompson is a native of Gaffney, graduating from Gaffney High School in 1983 and from Clemson University in 1988 with a degree in computer engineering. She went to work for NASA in 2004 after working as a NASA contractor for Boeing.
Her parents, Johnny and Judy Blackwell, still live in Gaffney and were there at Kennedy Space Center on Friday for their only child's historic moment.
The test director is responsible for checking all systems prior to launch and then officially initiating blast-off by pressing the launch button. As Johnny put it, "she's the person who mashes the button that lights the biggest candle in the world!"
To hear her proud parents describe the nervous moments leading up the launch and the joyous moments after, click on the "play" icon on the video tab above.
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