First African-American In Space Marks 30th Anniversary Of Flight

FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN IN SPACE MARKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF FLIGHT

When NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off on August 30, 1983, one 
crewmember chuckled with excitement all the way into space, and he 
made history along the way. 

Thirty years later, Guion S. "Guy" Bluford's memories of his historic 
flight (STS-8) are just as vivid as they were on that summer night. 
It was the first Space Shuttle launch and landing at night and the 
first time an African-American flew into space. 

"It was around midnight and it was raining," Bluford recalls today. 
"We came down the elevator, heading to 'the bird,' what we called the 
Shuttle, and all these people were standing there cheering us on. 
When the clock counted down and we took off, I just laughed, it was 
so much fun," he said. 

Though his achievement instantly thrust him into the spotlight as a 
role model for young African-Americans, Bluford says his goal was 
never to be the first African-American in space. "I recognized the 
importance of it, but I didn't want to be a distraction for my crew," 
he said. "We were all contributing to history and to our continued 
exploration of space." 

Instead, Bluford says his goal was "to make others feel comfortable" 
with African-Americans in space. 

"I felt I had to do the best job I could for people like the Tuskegee 
Airmen, who paved the way for me, but also to give other people the 
opportunity to follow in my footsteps," Bluford said. The Tuskegee 
Airmen made history as the first black flying squadron in World War 
II. 

Bluford's interest in flying dates back to his days in junior high 
school, making model airplanes and wanting to learn more about jet 
and rocket engines. Though he wanted to become an aerospace engineer, 
he became an Air Force fighter pilot in 1966, eventually flying 
combat missions over Vietnam. When he returned from the war, Bluford 
began teaching others to fly, but soon decided he was ready to learn 
more about flying at a much higher altitude. 

In 1977 he applied to NASA to become an astronaut. A year later, he 
was selected for the program, along with two other African-Americans, 
Fred Gregory and Ronald McNair. But it wasn't until 1982, in a 
meeting with George Abbey, then director of flight crew operations at 
NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), that Bluford realized he was 
headed to space. 

"Dale Gardner, Dan Brandenstein, Dick Truly and I were all sitting in 
Abbey's office," he recalls. "Abbey said, 'I'm looking for a crew for 
STS-8, and I was wondering if you were interested?' It was quite a 
thrill." 

Before the flight, NASA kept Bluford out of the news media spotlight, 
so he could focus on his mission. It also helped; much of the 
attention was still focused on Sally Ride, who had just made history 
on the previous Shuttle flight as the first American woman in space. 

Bluford and the crew of STS-8, including fifth crewmember Bill 
Thornton, trained at JSC for 15 months, before heading to Kennedy 
Space Center, Fla., for their rainy launch early on Aug. 30. 

With the cockpit dark, Bluford recalls fellow astronaut Shannon Lucid, 
who would fly on five future Shuttle missions, strapping him into his 
seat between Brandenstein, the pilot, and Shuttle Commander Truly. 
The clock counted down, and the Challenger lifted off. Over the next 
six days, Bluford and the crew deployed INSAT-1B, a multipurpose 
Indian satellite, and they conducted medical measurements to 
understand the effects of space flight on the human body.

The one thing he didn't have to worry about was his appetite. "We had 
little sandwiches tied to our seats, and when we got on orbit a 
couple of crewmembers weren't feeling well as they adapted to space, 
so they passed on lunch," Bluford said. "I felt fine. I not only ate 
my lunch, but part of theirs, too," he said. 

Following Challenger's successful early morning landing at 12:30 a.m., 
Sept. 5, 1983, Bluford went on a three-month national speaking tour, 
thanking the public for supporting him, the crew of STS-8 and the 
Shuttle program. He was a crewmember on three more Shuttle missions, 
STS-61A, STS-39 and STS-53, before retiring from the Astronaut Corps 
in 1993. "I was very lucky to have had four successful missions," 
Bluford said. "When you went out to the pad with me, everything 
pretty much went as planned." 

For more information about Guy Bluford, on the Internet, visit: 

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/bluford-gs.html
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/bluford_1st_african_amer.html