As a fighter pilot in Vietnam, Guion Stewart Bluford, Jr. (born 1942) flew 144 combat missions and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. On August 30, 1983, with the lift-off of the STS-8 Orbiter Challenger, he became the first African American in space.

Distinguished pilot and aeronautics engineer Guy Bluford was the first black American to experience space flight. Bluford has flown three missions on the Space Shuttle, performing various experiments and returning to earth with exhilarating memories of his time in orbit. Although others have hailed the Philadelphia native as a hero and a role model for the black race, Bluford--who has earned a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering--prefers to think of himself as a man whose accomplishments are not related to his skin color. He says that he would rather be seen simply as an astronaut, not a black astronaut, one of a hard-working corps and not a pioneer. "I...