{"id":123648,"date":"2021-10-18T09:23:03","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T13:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648//?p=123648"},"modified":"2026-04-16T12:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:58:17","slug":"space-game-means-something-extra-for-ucf-football-player-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648//space-game-means-something-extra-for-ucf-football-player-mother/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648//","title":{"rendered":"Space Game Means Something Extra for UCF Football Player, Mother"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sharlene (Wendel) Martin /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201986 /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201993MS cradles a UCF football helmet in her hand as her son Stephen, a redshirt freshman wide receiver on the team, huddles next to her closely examining it./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cThere it is: Sharlene Wendel Martin,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d Stephen says proudly as he points to the name listed on the center stripe of this year/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s space game head gear./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

Martin is one of more than 100 alumni whose names are incorporated on this year/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s helmet /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2014 a design element that was included after the UCF Athletics official Twitter account put out a call in July for submissions from UCF employees, fans and graduates who worked with NASA/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s space shuttle program./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

When the Knights kick off against Memphis on Oct. 22, there may not be another person in the stands with more ties to the fifth annual space game than longtime Knights fan, two-time graduate, mother of #47 and former Kennedy Space Center employee Sharlene (Wendel) Martin./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

Although it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s a relatively new tradition that began in 2017, the annual space game has become a fan favorite because of its special nod to the university/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s long-standing relationship with the United States space program. UCF was founded in 1963 with the mission of providing talent to support nearby Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Today, nearly 30% of KSC employees are UCF alumni./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

This year/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s theme honors the 40th anniversary of the space shuttle era (1981-2011), which spanned 135 missions, helped construct the International Space Station and inspired generations. Martin is one of the many Knights who helped contribute to that legacy./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

Following her four years of service in the U.S. Navy and earning her master/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s degree in engineering management, Martin worked as a payload test conductor with the shuttle program for nearly six years./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cI love that we honor our space connection with the space center because that/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s why we/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019re here /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2014 that/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s how [UCF] got started./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2014 Sharlene (Wendel) Martin /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201986 /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201993MS/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cThe space game and the military appreciation game both hold a lot of meaning for me,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cI feel so much pride. I love that we honor our space connection with the space center because that/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s why we/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019re here /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2014 that/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s how we got started. I know 女仆AV is so huge now and we have so many opportunities, but if it hadn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019t been for that need to supply the engineers out there, UCF may not be here./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

Stellar in STEM/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

On Jan. 28, 1986, Martin was an electrical engineering student in her senior year at UCF sitting in the cafeteria /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2014 now 63 South /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2014 when her friend reminded her the space shuttle Challenger was about to launch from Cape Canaveral. Martin declined the invitation to go outside. She had seen launches before and the 36-degree temperature was too cold for her South Florida blood./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cThey came running back in and I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019ll never forget the looks on their faces,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d Martin says, referring to the explosion that killed all seven crew members on board. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cFrom that point on, I never took the space program for granted again./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

Although she didn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019t know it at the time, Martin would go on to play a significant role in the space shuttle era as a lead payload test conductor on four missions. Her role involved coordinating the process of including the scientific experiments in the cargo bay of the shuttle, which meant that come launch day, she had an active role on the launch control room floor and gave the /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cgo, no-go/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d call for her area./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

She cites those four launch days as her most memorable experience on the job./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cThose launches were the most exciting thing ever,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cTo be sitting in that control room, your heart is pounding. Because of what happened with the Challenger, we would literally hold our breath until we had separation. Once separation happened, the applause in that room would fill up and the exhilaration you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019d feel walking out of there, it was just incredible./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cI love being part of a team that accomplishes something. We all did this together. I feel like I was such an insignificant part when you look at the part that everybody played. But thanks to the cumulative effect of all those small parts, we got that space shuttle up in the air and ran experiments that provided the groundwork for the International Space Station, which is providing the groundwork for going to Mars./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

She credits her father/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019s encouragement and her time in the engineering program at UCF with providing her the confidence and skillset needed to pursue her career./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cMy experience at UCF and within the engineering program taught me how to think and solve through problems /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2014 how to find answers even when you think there might not be one,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201cI have always taken on any opportunity that has presented itself at full force because I never once heard, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2018You can/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019t do that,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019 or /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2018You can/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019t succeed./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u2019 /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123648/n