Portrait of Guy Bluford Courtesy of NASA

Guion Bluford is an American astronaut who was born on November 22, 1942 in Pennsylvania. Before he became an astronaut, Bluford was a pilot for the Air Force. He flew over 4800 hours on several different jets. Bluford is also an aerospace engineer.

Bluford became an astronaut in 1979. He has made three space flights and has spent over 688 hours in space.

In 1983, Bluford became the first African-American to go into space aboard STS-8. This shuttle made the first nighttime launch and landing. In 1985, he flew aboard a Spacelab mission. In 1991 and 1992, Bluford flew on two Department of Defense missions.