“I felt an awesome responsibility, and I took the responsibility very seriously, of being a role model and opening another door to black Americans, but the important thing is not that I am black, but that I did a good job as a scientist and an astronaut.” – Guion Blueford
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 22, 1942.
Graduated from Overbrook Senior High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1960; received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1964; a master of science degree with distinction in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1974; a doctor of philosophy in aerospace engineering with a minor in laser physics from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1978 and a master in business administration from the University of Houston, Clear Lake, in 1987. He has also attended the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.
He attended pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, and received his pilot wings in January 1966. He then went to F 4C combat crew training in Arizona and Florida and was assigned to the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. He flew 144 combat missions, 65 of which were over North Vietnam.
Bluford became a NASA astronaut in August 1979. As a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle ‘Challenger’ in 1983, Guion S. Bluford became the first African American to travel into space. Bluford has logged over 688 hours in space.
retired from both NASA and the Air Force in 1993.
Bluford was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997, nd the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.