Guion Bluford

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Guion Bluford
Guion Bluford
Country: United States
Organization: NASA
selected on January 16, 1978
( 8th NASA Group )
Calls: 4 space flights
Start of the
first space flight: 		August 30, 1983
Landing of the
last space flight: 		December 9, 1992
Time in space: 28d 16h 33min
retired on June 15, 1993
Space flights

Guion Stewart "Guy" Bluford, Jr. (born November 22, 1942 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is a retired American astronaut .

Bluford received a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1964 and a master's degree in 1974 and a doctorate in aerospace engineering in laser technology from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1978 . In 1987 he received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Houston .

In 1964 Bluford joined the United States Air Force , where he was soon transferred to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam after completing his pilot training . In total, he flew 144 combat missions in the Vietnam War . In July 1967 he was transferred to Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas as a pilot instructor .

On September 28, 2019, he will be honored as a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame Class of 2019.

Astronaut activity

Bluford was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978 and trained as a mission specialist by August 1979.

STS-8

On August 30, 1983, Bluford flew into space for the first time on the Challenger space shuttle . This mission was the first space shuttle flight to both take off and land at night. The cargo consisted of the Indian multi-purpose satellite Insat 1-B . Bluford was the first African American to take part in a space mission. The Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez , who flew into space with Soyuz 38 in 1980, was of African descent .

STS-61-A

Bluford's next mission took place on October 30, 1985, also with the space shuttle Challenger. During this mission, which is also known as the D1 mission, the European Spacelab was carried in the hold. This was the first and so far only time that eight astronauts flew into space simultaneously with a spaceship. The US military's GLOMR (Global Low Orbiting Message Relay) satellite was also deployed.

STS-39

On April 28, 1991, Bluford flew into space on the space shuttle Discovery . The main objective of the mission was to conduct various military experiments as well as deploy several small satellites.

STS-53

On December 2, 1992, Bluford took off on the space shuttle Discovery for his last space flight. This mission was carried out on behalf of the US Department of Defense with a secret payload.

Private

Guion Bluford and his wife Linda have two children.

See also

Web links

Commons : Guion Bluford  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Join us for Enshrinement 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME Bluford, Guion
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bluford, Guion Stewart; Bluford, Guion Stewart junior (full name); Bluford, Guy junior (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American astronaut
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania