On August 30, 1983, The Space Shuttle, Challenger, Left Kennedy Space Center, Carrying The First African American MaleAstronaut To Go Into Space.
Forty-Year-Old, Col. Guion S. Bluford, Jr. A Mission Specialist, Tested The Challenger's Mechanical Arm, Helped Launch Weather And Communication Satelites And Performed Experiments On Electrophoresis.
Born November 22, 1942, In Philadelphia Pennsylvania, "Guy" Was Always Interested In Flying And Dreamed Of Becoming An Aerospace Engineer Since Junior High School.
He Began His Flying Career In The Air Force, Executing 144 Combat Missions Over Vietnam. He Earned His Ph.D In Aerospace Engineering From The Air Force Institute Of Technology, In 1978 --- That Same Year He Was Accepted Into The National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA) Astronaut Program, Out Of 8,078 Candidates.
In 1983, Bluford Became The First AfricanAmerican To Go Into Space. Two Years Later He Was Aboard The Crew Of America's First Space Lab Mission, The Orbiter Challenger.
( While Bluford IS The First Black American To Go Into Space, He Is Not The First Person Of AfricanDescent To Do So. Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez A Cuban, Of African Descent, Was Aboard Russia's Soyuz 38, In 1980).
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It."-- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
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