Guy Bluford

Astronaut Guy Bluford poses with a Penn State pennant onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-53. Bluford is a 1964 alumnus of the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

Guion Bluford was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 22 November 1942. He received his bachelors in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1964, and went into the ROTC. Bluford attended flight school and served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam. Going back to school, Bluford received a masters of science degree (1974) and doctor of philosophy in aerospace engineering with a minor in laser physics (1978), both from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Bluford entered the Astronaut Training Program, attaining the status of astronaut in 1979. He became the first African-American in space during his first mission aboard the Challenger in 1983, and he went on to serve another mission on the Challenger and two Discovery missions. Returning to school again, Bluford received his masters in business administration from the University of Houston in 1987.

Although he retired from NASA and the Air Force in 1993, Bluford remained active in aeronautics by becoming vice president of the Science and Engineering Group, Aerospace Sector of the Federal Data Corporation in Maryland. Bluford was also inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997.