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U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Guion S. Bluford became
the first African American to travel into space when the space
shuttle Challenger lifted 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.

Just before dawn on September 5, the shuttle landed at
Edwards Air Force Base in California, bringing an end to
the most flawless shuttle mission to that date.

Guion was born November 22, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.