Black History Month- Dr. Guion S. Bluford

“I’ve come to appreciate the planet we live on. It’s a small ball in a large universe. It’s a very fragile ball but also very beautiful. You don’t recognize that until you see it from a little farther off.” - Dr. Guion S. Bluford

Dr. Guion Bluford grew up with parents that encouraged and demonstrated the importance of education. He took that encouragement to heart and after graduating high school, he entered the Air Forces’ ROTC Program at Pennsylvania State University. In 1964, he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in aerospace engineering and was immediately sent to be a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. 

Bluford flew in 144 combat missions while in Vietnam. During his service term, Bluford earned the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm. After the Vietnam War ended, Bluford went to the Airforce Institute of Technology and earned his Master’s and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. After graduating, Dr. Bluford became the Staff Development Engineer and Branch Chief of the Air Force Flight Dynamics Lab.

​In 1978, NASA held its first competition to become space shuttle astronauts. Dr. Bluford applied and was selected amongst 34 others from the applicant pool of over 10,000. After a year of training, Dr. Bluford became an official NASA astronaut and in 1983, he made history by being the first African American to travel through space.
Dr. Bluford joined four space travel missions from 1983 until 1992. His missions focused on conducting experiments while orbiting around the earth. Dr. Bluford did experiments for NASA and the Department of Defence. Collectively, Dr. Bluford spent 28 days and 16 hours in space. 

In 1993, Dr. Bluford retired from both NASA and the airforce. Afterward, he joined the private sector and worked for multiple companies throughout the years, including being the Vice President for the Engineering Division of NYMA and later becoming the Vice President of the Microgravity R&D and Operations for Northrop Grumman Corporation. In 2002, he took his final position as the President of Aerospace Technology before officially retiring.

To learn more about Dr. Bluford and his space travels, check out Space Challenger: The Story of Guion Bluford by Jim Maskins and Kathleen Benson. 


“Biographical Data.” NASA, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, May 2019, www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/bluford_guion.pdf.

Biography.com Editors. “Guion S. Bluford Biography.” Biography, A&E Television Networks, 1 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/astronaut/guion-s-bluford.

Bolden Jr., Charles F, and Anatoli A Blagonravov. “Guion S. Bluford Jr.” New Mexico Museum of Space History, 10 Jan. 2019, www.nmspacemuseum.org/inductee/guion-s-bluford-jr/?doing_wp_cron=1614102293.1604139804840087890625#:~:text=Guion S.-,Bluford Jr.,a scientist and an astronaut.​