Today the first African-American to go to space in the history of astronomy is born.
Among other accomplishments, Guion Blueford was the first person to receive the Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wing Badge. Credit: NASA
- Born in 1942, Guion Bluford studied aerospace engineering, earning advanced degrees and training as a fighter pilot before being selected as a space shuttle astronaut in 1978.
- He made history as a mission specialist on STS-8 aboard *Challenger* on August 30, 1983, becoming the first African American in space.
- Blueford completed three additional Space Shuttle missions, spent 688 hours in space, participated in NASA’s first night launch and night landing, and one mission with the largest crew of eight.
- After retiring from the Army and NASA in 1993, he continued to work in the private sector of the aerospace industry.
Born in Philadelphia on November 22, 1942, Guyon “Guy” Bluford earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering at Penn State. In addition to training as a fighter pilot in the Air Force, Blueford also earned master’s and doctoral degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology. In 1978, he was selected to become a Space Shuttle astronaut in Astronaut Group 8 – one of just 35 people selected from 10,000 applicants.
Blueford launched as a mission specialist contender Became the first African American in space for STS-8 on August 30, 1983. This will be followed by three additional Space Shuttle missions, bringing Blueford’s total time in space to 688 hours – including NASA’s first night launch and night landing of a Space Shuttle and the largest crew in space (eight people on a single space flight). In 1993, he retired from the Army and NASA; Today he continues to work in the private sector of the aerospace industry.
