NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin became the second
person to walk on the moon as part of the 1969
Apollo 11 mission.  
        
        
      

On January 12,1986, astronaut and physicist Franklin Chang-
Diaz became the first Hispanic American to fly in space on the
Space Shuttle Columbia, which orbited Earth 96 times, deployed
the SATCOM KU satellite used for broadcast television and
conducted experiments in astrophysics. It was a high point in
an aeronautical career with plenty of high points.

That six-day flight was the first of his seven space missions,
tying the record for most space flights held by astronaut Jerry
Ross.

Franklin Ramon Chang-Díaz will be 76 in
April.

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.

Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. (82)

James Arthur Lovell Jr. (March 25, 1928 – August 7, 2025)

The Apollo 13 commander was remembered for ‘legendary leadership in pioneering human space flight.’ Lovell died
on Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois. 

Jim Lovell, center, with fellow Apollo 13 astronauts Fred
Haise and Jack Swigert.

"Houston, we have a problem." The iconic five-word phrase spoken by Tom Hanks, portraying astronaut Jim Lovell, in
the 1995 blockbuster Apollo 13 instantly became one of the
most memorable movie quotes of all time.

Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012)