Guy Bluford, First African American in Space: 40 Years of Inspiration

Guy Bluford of NASA broke down barriers and created history in 1983 by becoming the first African American astronaut in orbit. Enjoy audio from Bluford and visuals from his Space Shuttle missions as you commemorate the turning points that altered the course of space exploration for all time.

STS-8, which launched on August 30, 1983, from Florida's Kennedy Space Center was Bluford's first mission. This was the Challenger orbiter's third flight, and it was the first one with a night launch and night landing. The STS-8 crew carried out medical tests to understand the biophysiological effects of spaceflight, activated four "Getaway Special" spacecraft, 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, and more during the mission.