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Black History Month: Black Astronauts

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Malyse

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First African American astronaut candidate

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Ed Dwight
September 9, 1933
United States
Selected as the first African American astronaut candidate in 1961;resigned from the Air Force in 1966 after government officials created a threatening atmosphere

First person of African descent to travel to space

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
January 29, 1943
Cuba
First Black person and first Latino to fly in space
Soyuz 38 (September 18, 1980)

African American astronauts

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Guion Bluford
November 22, 1942
United States
First African American astronaut in space
STS-8 (August 30, 1983)
STS-61-A (October 30, 1985)
STS-39 (April 28, 1991)
STS-53 (December 2, 1992)

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Ronald McNair
October 21, 1950 - January 28, 1986
United States
Killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
STS-41-B (February 3, 1984)
STS-51-L (January 28, 1986)

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Frederick D. Gregory
January 7, 1941
United States
First African American to pilot and command a Space Shuttle mission;
Acting Administrator of NASA, 2005
STS-51-B (April 29, 1985)
STS-33 (November 22, 1989)
STS-44 (November 24, 1991)

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Charles F. Bolden, Jr.
August 19, 1946
United States
Administrator of NASA, July 17, 2009 – January 20, 2017
STS-61-C (January 12, 1986)
STS-31 (April 24, 1990)
STS-45 (March 24, 1992)
STS-60 (February 3, 1994)

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Mae Jemison
October 17, 1956
United States
First African American woman in space
STS-47 (September 12, 1992)

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Bernard A. Harris, Jr.
June 26, 1956
United States
First African American to walk in space
STS-55 (April 26, 1993)
STS-63 (February 3, 1995)

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Winston E. Scott
August 6, 1950
United States
Veteran of three spacewalks
STS-72 (January 11, 1996)
STS-87 (November 19, 1997)

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Robert Curbeam
March 5, 1962
United States
Veteran of seven spacewalks
STS-85 (August 7, 1997)
STS-98 (February 7, 2001)
STS-116 (December 9, 2006)

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Michael P. Anderson
December 25, 1959-February 1, 2003
United States Killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
STS-89 (January 22, 1998)
STS-107 (January 16, 2003)

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Stephanie Wilson
September 27, 1966
United States
STS-121 (July 4, 2006)
STS-120 (October 23, 2007)
STS-131 (April 5, 2010)

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Joan Higginbotham
August 3, 1964
United States
STS-116 (December 9, 2006)

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B. Alvin Drew
November 5, 1962
United States
Veteran of two spacewalks, February 28 and March 2, 2011
STS-118 (August 8, 2007)
STS-133 (February 24, 2011)

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Leland D. Melvin
February 15, 1964
United States
Associate Administrator for Education at NASA
STS-122 (February 7, 2008)
STS-129 (November 16, 2009)

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Robert Satcher
September 22, 1965
United States
EVA November 19 and November 23, 2009
STS-129 (November 16, 2009)

These African American astronauts have not traveled into space.

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Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr.
October 2, 1935-December 8, 1967
United States
First African American astronaut; selected for astronaut training in 1967 for the MOL program; died in an aircraft accident

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Livingston Holder
September 29, 1956
United States
USAF astronaut in the Manned Spaceflight Engineer Program

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Michael E. Belt
September 9, 1957
United States
Astronaut, payload specialist from TERRA SCOUT - US Army Project; retired January 12, 1991

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Yvonne Cagle
April 24, 1959
United States
Astronaut

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Jeanette J. Epps
November 2, 1970
United States
Astronaut
On January 5, 2016 NASA announced that Epps is set to become the first African American space station crew member when she launches on her first spaceflight in May 2018, as a flight engineer on Expedition 56, remaining on board for Expedition 57

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Victor J. Glover
April 30, 1976
United States
Astronaut


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For the sake of perspective, as of five years ago, NASA had sent at least 334 astronauts into space. As of right now, there are 45 active astronauts, 296 former astronauts (who have flown missions, then left NASA) and 25 management astronauts no longer eligible for missions, for 366 astronauts. And we're only getting around to this first for a black astronaut now.
 

Malyse

Member
I'm afraid I'm not understanding this part...this first for a black astronaut? Are you talking about first black astronaut on the station?

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Jeanette J. Epps
November 2, 1970
United States
Astronaut
On January 5, 2016 NASA announced that Epps is set to become the first African American space station crew member when she launches on her first spaceflight in May 2018, as a flight engineer on Expedition 56, remaining on board for Expedition 57

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For the sake of perspective, as of five years ago, NASA had sent at least 334 astronauts into space. As of right now, there are 45 active astronauts, 296 former astronauts (who have flown missions, then left NASA) and 25 management astronauts no longer eligible for missions, for 366 astronauts. And we're only getting around to this first for a black astronaut now.

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