U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Guion S. Bluford became the
first African American to travel into space when the space shuttle Challenger lifts off on its third mission. It was the first night
launch of a space shuttle, and many people stayed up late to
watch the spacecraft roar up from Cape Canaveral, Florida,
at 2:32 a.m.

The Challenger spent six days in space, during which time Bluford
and his four fellow crew members launched a communications
satellite for the government of India, made contact with an errant communications satellite, conducted scientific experiments, and
tested the shuttle’s robotic arm.

Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. will be 81  years old, November 22.