answersLogoWhite

0

U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Guion S. Bluford becomes the first African American to travel into space when the space shuttle Challenger lifts off on its third mission. It was the first night launch of a space shuttle, and many people stayed up late to watch the spacecraft roar up from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 2:32 a.m.

The Challenger spent six days in space, during which time Bluford and his four fellow crew members launched a communications satellite for the government of India, made contact with an errant communications satellite, conducted scientific experiments, and tested the shuttle's robotic arm. Just before dawn on September 5, the shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, bringing an end to the most flawless shuttle mission to that date.

Guion Stewart Bluford II was born in Philadelphia in 1942. From an early age, "Guy" was fascinated with flight and decided he wanted to design and build airplanes. In 1964, he graduated from Penn State with a degree in aerospace engineering. Deciding he'd need to know how to fly planes if he wanted to build them, he entered the U.S. Air Force and graduated with his pilot wings in 1965. He was assigned to a fighter squadron in Vietnam, where he flew 144 combat missions. After combat service, he became a flight instructor and in the 1970s went on to receive a master's degree and doctorate in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

In 1979, he was accepted into the U.S. astronaut program. He made his first flight in 1983 as a mission specialist on the eighth shuttle mission. He later flew three more shuttle missions, logging a total of 700 hours in orbit. After returning from NASA, he became vice president and general manager of an engineering company in Ohio.

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

Who was the first afican American to travel in space?

who was the first African American to travel in space


First african american to into space?

The first African American to travel in the space was Guion Bluford. He was however the second from African ancestry to travel in the space.


Who was the first african american to travel to space?

dr.mae jemsin


Who was the first African American women to travel in space?

Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to travel in space. She flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in September 1992.


Who was the first African-American female astronaut?

Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African-American female astronaut. She flew into space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992, becoming the first African-American woman to travel to space.


First African American to go into space?

The first African American to go into space was Guion Bluford, who flew aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on August 30, 1983. Bluford's mission made him the first African American astronaut to travel to space.


Who was the first African American to travel in space?

Guion Bluford was the first African-American to actually make it to space. Other African Americans were chosen to be astronauts before him, but they didn't make it to space. Robert H. Lawrence Jr. would have been the first, but he was killed in a jet accident during a training exercise.Bernard A. Harris, Jr. was the first African-American to walk in space.Mae Jemison was the first Black woman in space.


Who was the first female african american astronaut to join NASA?

Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African American female astronaut to join NASA. She flew into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992, becoming the first African American woman to travel to space.


What was Mae jemison's accomplshments?

Mae Jemison is the first African American to travel through space.


The first African American to go into space?

Guion Bluford was the first African American to go into space.


Who was the first black women to travel to space?

Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to travel to space on September 12, 1992, aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.


First South African in space tourist?

The first South African space tourist was Mark Shuttleworth. He was the first from an African country to travel into space.