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Guion S. Bluford biography

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Guion Bluford became the first African-American to travel in space in 1983, on board the space shuttle Challenger, and three later missions.

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Guion Bluford was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 22, 1942. Bluford became the first African-American to travel in space in 1983, on board the space shuttle Challenger, and three later missions. His career began as a pilot in the US Air Force, flying 144 missions during the Vietnam War, before becoming a NASA astronaut in 1979.

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Quotes

you see it from a little farther off."
– Guion S. Bluford

Profile

U.S. Air Force pilot, American astronaut. Born on November 22, 1942, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bluford became the first African American to travel in space in 1983 as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger. He studied aerospace engineering at Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1964. A distinguished U.S. Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) member in college, Bluford joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the Vietnam War. Flying more than 140 combat missions, he won several medals, including the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm.

After the war, Bluford went to the Air Force Institute of Technology where he received a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 1974 and went on to earn Ph.D. in that same subject in 1978. Also in 1978, he was picked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) space program. Bluford made history on August 30, 1983, when the Challenger took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, making him the first African American to experience space travel. During this mission, he conducted experiments. Bluford joined the crew of three more space missions in 1985, 1991, and 1992.

Bluford retired in 1993 and was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997, having logged 688 hours in space during his career. After leaving NASA and the U.S. Air Force, Bluford has worked primarily in the private sector. Over the years, he has worked in the aerospace division of several companies, including Federal Data Corporation and Northrop Grumman. Bluford is currently the president of the Aerospace Technology Group.

© 2012 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.

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