Astronaut Guion Bluford exercises on the middeck treadmill during his first shuttle flight, STS-8. Image: NASA.
First African-American in Space
Astronaut Guion Bluford exercises on the middeck treadmill during his first shuttle flight, STS-8. Image: NASA.
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Guion S. Bluford, Jr. has the distinction of being the first African-American in space. Bluford's first mission was STS-8 (Challenger), which launched from Kennedy Space Center on August 30, 1983. STS-8 was the first shuttle to be launched and land during the night. Bluford also served as mission specialist aboard STS 61-A (Challenger) in 1985 and STS-39 (Discovery) in 1991. |
A 1964 graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Bluford earned an M.S. in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1974, a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering with a minor in laser physics from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1978, and an MBA from the University of Houston, Clear Lake, in 1987. Currently, Bluford is vice president and general manager of the Engineering Services Division, NYMA, Inc., Brook Park, Ohio. |