Guion Bluford Dr . Guion Stewart “ Guy ” Bluford , Jr . ( born November 22 , 1942 ) , is an engineer , NASA astronaut , and the first African American in space . Before becoming an astronaut , Bluford was a Colonel in the U . S . Air Force . He participated in four Space Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992 . In 1983 , as a member of the crew of the Space Shuttle " Challenger " on the mission STS - 8 , Bluford became the first African American in space as well as the second person of African ancestry in space , after Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez . Biography . Early years . Bluford was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , and graduated from Overbrook High School . He received a B . S . in aerospace engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 1964 , an Master in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology ( AFIT ) in 1974 , a Ph . D . in aerospace engineering with a minor in laser physics , again from AFIT , in 1978 , and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston – Clear Lake in 1987 . He married Linda Tull in 1964 and has two sons , Guion III and James . While at Penn State , Bluford became a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity . Career . Bluford attended pilot training at Williams Air Force Base , 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 . In July 1967 , he was assigned to the 3630th Flying Training Wing , Sheppard Air Force Base , Texas , as a T - 38A instructor pilot . He served as a standardization / evaluation officer and as an assistant flight commander . In early 1971 , he attended Squadron Officer School and returned as an executive support officer to the Deputy Commander of Operations and as School Secretary for the Wing . In August 1972 , he entered the Air Force Institute of Technology residency school at Wright - Patterson Air Force Base , Ohio . Upon graduating in 1974 with his master ' s degree , he was assigned to the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory at Wright - Patterson Air Force Base , Ohio , as a staff development engineer . He served as deputy for advanced concepts for the Aeromechanics Division and as branch chief of the Aerodynamics and Airframe Branch in the Laboratory . Bluford has written and presented several scientific papers in the area of computational fluid dynamics . He has logged over 5 , 200 hours of jet flight time in the T - 33 , T - 37 , T - 38 , F - 4C , U - 2 / TR - 1 , and F - 5A / B aircraft , including 1 , 300 hours as a T - 38 instructor pilot . He also has an FAA commercial pilot license . NASA . Bluford was chosen to become a NASA astronaut in August 1979 out of thousands of possible candidates . His technical assignments have included working with Space Station operations , the Remote Manipulator System ( RMS ) , Spacelab systems and experiments , Space Shuttle systems , payload safety issues and verifying flight software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory ( SAIL ) and in the Flight Systems Laboratory ( FSL ) . Bluford was a mission specialist on STS - 8 , STS - 61 - A , STS - 39 , and STS - 53 . Bluford ' s first mission was STS - 8 , which launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on August 30 , 1983 . This was the third flight for the Orbiter " Challenger " and the first mission with a night launch and night landing . During the mission , the STS - 8 crew deployed the Indian National Satellite ( INSAT - 1B ) ; operated the Canadian - built RMS with the Payload Flight Test Article ( PFTA ) ; operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System ( CFES ) with live cell samples ; conducted medical measurements to understand biophysiological effects of space flight ; and activated four " Getaway Special " canisters . STS - 8 completed 98 orbits of the Earth in 145 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on September 5 , 1983 . Bluford then served on the crew of STS - 61 - A , the German D - 1 Spacelab mission , which launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on October 30 , 1985 . This mission was the first to carry eight crew members , the largest crew to fly in space and included three European payload specialists . This was the first dedicated Spacelab mission under the direction of the German Aerospace Research Establishment ( DFVLR ) and the first U . S . mission in which payload control was transferred to a foreign country ( German Space Operations Center , Oberpfaffenhofen , Germany ) . During the mission , the Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite ( GLOMR ) was deployed from a " Getaway Special " ( GAS ) container , and 76 experiments were performed in Spacelab in such fields as fluid physics , materials processing , life sciences , and navigation . After completing 111 orbits of the Earth in 169 hours , " Challenger " landed at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on November 6 , 1985 . Bluford also served on the crew of STS - 39 , which launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on April 28 , 1991 , aboard the Orbiter " Discovery " . The crew gathered aurora , Earth - limb , celestial , and Shuttle environment data with the AFP - 675 payload . This payload consisted of the Cryogenic Infrared Radiance Instrumentation for Shuttle ( CIRRIS - 1A ) experiment , Far Ultraviolet Camera experiment ( FAR UV ) , the Uniformly Redundant Array ( URA ) , the Quadrupole Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer ( QINMS ) , and the Horizon Ultraviolet Program ( HUP ) experiment . The crew also deployed and retrieved the SPAS - II which carried the Infrared Background Signature Survey ( IBSS ) experiment . The crew also operated the Space Test Payload - 1 ( STP - 1 ) and deployed a classified payload from the Multi - Purpose Experiment Canister ( MPEC ) . After completing 134 orbits of the Earth and 199 hours in space , " Discovery " landed at the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on May 6 , 1991 . Bluford ' s last mission was STS - 53 , which launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on December 2 , 1992 . The crew of five deployed the classified Department of Defense payload DOD - 1 and then performed several Military - Man - in - Space and NASA experiments . After completing 115 orbits of the Earth in 175 hours , " Discovery " landed at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on December 9 , 1992 . With the completion of his fourth flight , Bluford has logged over 688 hours in space . Bluford , an Eagle Scout , was designated as the emissary to return the Challenger flag to Boy Scout Troop 514 of Monument , Colorado in December , 1986 . On December 18 of that year , he presented the flag to the troop in a special ceremony at Falcon Air Force Base . Post NASA Career . Bluford left NASA in July 1993 to take the post of Vice President / General Manager , Engineering Services Division of NYMA , Greenbelt , Maryland . In May , 1997 , he became Vice President of the Aerospace Sector of Federal Data Corporation and in October , 2000 , became the Vice President of Microgravity R & D and Operations for the Northrop Grumman Corporation . He retired from Northrop Grumman in September , 2002 to become the President of Aerospace Technology , an engineering consulting organization in Cleveland , Ohio . He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997 , and inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010 . In 2002 , scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Bluford on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans . In 2006 , Bluford was recognized as a distinguished alumnus of $ 3 by being selected as the Grand Marshal for his alma mater ' s Homecoming celebration . Awards and decorations . He also received honorary doctorate degrees from Florida A & M University , Texas Southern University , Virginia State University , Morgan State University , Stevens Institute of Technology , Tuskegee Institute , Bowie State College , Thomas Jefferson University , Chicago State University , Georgian Court University , Drexel University , Kent State University , Central State University and the University of the Sciences .