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 crew members launched a communications
satellite for the government of India, made contact with an
errant communications satellite, conducted various 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 Stewart Bluford Jr. (82)
