It has been 50 years since NASA’s Apollo 11 mission when Neil Armstrong took that “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The United States has sent hundreds of astronauts to space, but it wasn’t until nearly 15 years after the first space mission that an African-American became a part of one in 1983. Fourteen African American astronauts have been to space since then. Let us learn about some of them. 

1. Guion Bluford

Guion Bluford was a part of the crew of 1983 Orbiter Challenger on the mission STS-8. He was the first African-American and second black person (the first being Cuban astronaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez) to travel to space. A retired Air Force colonel, Bluford went on three subsequent missions after that. He was a member of NASA from 1978 to 1993 and spent a total of 688 hours in space.

2. Frederick D. Gregory

Frederick D. Gregory became the first African-American astronaut to pilot a shuttle mission when he flew the STS-51B/Spacelab-3 in 1985. In 1989, he commanded the STS-33, becoming the first African-American to do so. He was a member of NASA from 1978 to 2005. He spent 455 hours in space.

3. Bernard A. Harris Jr.

The first African-American astronaut to do a spacewalk, Bernard A. Harris Jr. flew two missions. The first was as a mission specialist aboard STS-55/Spacelab D-2 in 1991. The second was as a Payload Commander on STS-63 in 1995. Harris was a part of NASA from 1987 to 1996 and has logged in 438 hours in space.

4. Mae C. Jemison

Mae C. Jemison is an engineer and physician. She became the first African-American woman to travel to space when she became a part of the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992 as a mission specialist. During this mission, she conducted crucial bone cell research. Jemison has logged in 190 hours in space. Check out our website to learn and share more about Mae C. Jemison to your kids

5. Stephanie Wilson

Before joining the astronaut program at NASA, Stephanie Wilson worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has been a part of three Space Shuttle missions and has logged in 1,031 hours in space, which is the most of any African-American astronaut. On all three missions, she worked as a robotic arm operator and oversaw spacewalk support and the transfer of supplies and equipment to the International Space Station (ISS).

Want to learn about more eminent about black scientists and historical personalities? Read about greats such as Lewis Latimer, Benjamin Banneker and Patricia Cowings on our educational website!