Guion Bluford's astonishing career — first African American to go to space

Randi Mann - Aug 30

On Tuesday, August 30, 1983, Guion Bluford became the first African American to go to space. Bluford was one of five people on the STS-8 mission. It was NASA's eighth mission to space and the Space Shuttle Challenger's third. The shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission was overall successful, but Bluford really put it on the map.

Bluford was born on Nov. 22, 1942, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His tenure of education includes a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Aerospace Engineering (with a bonus minor in Laser Physics), and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston–Clear Lake.

Guion Bluford's astonishing career — first African American to go to space© Provided by The Weather Network"Bluford on STS-8 in 1983." Courtesy of Wikipedia

Bluford joined the Air Force and received his pilot wings in Jan. 1966. In 1967, he was assigned to the Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas as an instructor pilot. In 1971, Bluford became an executive support officer to the Deputy Commander of Operations.

In 1974 Bluford was assigned to the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory and served as the staff development engineer. By the time he was recruited by NASA in 1978, he logged over 5,200 hours of jet flight time.

Bluford was a part of NASA astronaut group 8. By Aug. 1979, he was officially an astronaut. Bluford's assignments included working with the Space Station operations, the Spacelab systems and experiments, and the Space Shuttle systems.



The STS-8 was NASA's first night launch and landing. During the mission, the crew tested the Canadarm (the Canadian robotic arm), deployed the Indian National Satellite, conducted experiments to better understand the biophysiological effects of space flight, and executed other tasks.

The mission completed 98 orbits around Earth in six days, one hour, eight minutes and 43 seconds before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Sep. 5, 1983.

Bluford completed four flights with NASA, logging more than 688 hours in space. Bluford has been inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame, the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame.