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Celebrating the Accomplishments of Black Americans
Guion “Guy” Bluford (1942–): First African American Astronaut to Fly In Space
Guion “Guy” Bluford was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1942. Although a high school counselor encouraged him to learn a trade, he was determined to attend college. In 1964, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
He enrolled in ROTC and attended flight school, earning his “wings” in 1966. Assigned to the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Cam Ranh Bay , Vietnam , Bluford flew 144 combat missions, 65 over North Vietnam . After Vietnam , he spent five years as a flight instructor at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas .
Bluford earned a Master of Science degree with distinction in Aerospace Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1974, followed by a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Laser Physics from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1978, and was one of 35 astronaut candidates selected from a field of over 10,000.
Selected as an astronaut in August 1979, his first mission was aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. This was Challenger 's third flight but first with a night launch and night landing and the first with an African American astronaut. Dr. Bluford served on three more shuttle missions aboard the Challenger and the Discovery during his NASA career.
Dr. Bluford earned a Master in Business Administration from the University of Houston , Clear Lake , in 1987. In 1993 he retired from NASA and the Air Force and now serves as vice president and general manager of the Science and Engineering Group, Aerospace Sector of the Federal Data Corporation, in Maryland . He has received many medals, awards, and accolades, and was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997.
NEXT: Edward Alexander Bouchet
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