Portrait of Bernard Harris Courtesy of NASA

Bernard Harris is an American astronaut who was born on June 26, 1956, in Texas. Before he became an astronaut, Harris was a professor at the University of Texas.

Harris became an astronaut in 1991. He has spent over 438 hours in space on two spaceflights.

Harris made his first spaceflight in 1991 aboard STS-55. He performed experiments in medicine during this mission. In 1995, he flew aboard STS-63. Harris became the first African-American to walk in space during this flight.

Harris left NASA in 1996. He currently works for a firm in Texas.