Guy Bluford, American Astronaut


Entitled: "Official portrait of astronaut Guion S. Bluford." Guion Stewart "Guy" Bluford, Jr. (born November 22, 1942) is an engineer, and retired NASA astronaut. He attended pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, and received his pilot wings in 1966. He was assigned to the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam where he flew 144 combat missions. In 1972, he entered the Air Force Institute of Technology residency school at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Upon graduating in 1974 with his master's degree, he was assigned to the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory, as a staff development engineer. He was chosen to become a NASA astronaut in 1979. He was a mission specialist on STS-8, STS-61-A, STS-39, and STS-53. In 1983, as a member of the crew of the Challenger on the mission STS-8, Bluford became the first African-American in space. He left NASA in 1993. Bluford was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed him on his list of 100 Greatest African- Americans. He was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.


Size: 3119px × 3900px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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