black astronauts

Joan Higginbotham is just the third Black woman to go into space, and to date is the last to do so since 2006. The Chicago native and Delta woman was born August 3, 1964. After graduating high school, Higginbotham attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, earning her bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1987. Higginbotham […]

Frederick D. Gregory is a former astronaut and former deputy NASA administrator who first made history in 1978 as one of NASA’s first astronauts, among other achievements. Today is the Washington, D.C. native’s birthday. Frederick Drew Gregory was born in 1941, graduating from Anacostia High School before obtaining his bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Air […]

Maj. Robert H. Lawrence’s life was tragically cut short just months after he made history. After being named the first Black astronaut by the U.S. Air Force in June 1967, Lawrence died in a plane crash in December of that year just ahead of a possible journey to the stars. Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. was […]

  Jessica Watkins isn’t yet officially an astronaut, but last week she was selected as one of NASA’s latest crop of candidates to take to space. Watkins, a native of Lafayette, Colorado, has dreamed of being an astronaut since she was a little girl, and is now one step closer to accomplishing that goal. Watkins, […]

On this day in 1978, NASA graduated its first group of Space Shuttle astronauts which signaled a new day for the space program. Among the group of 35, three Black men went on to leave their mark on history as explorers of space. Maj. Frederick D. Gregory of Washington, Col. Guion Bluford of Pennsylvania, and […]

Guion “Guy” Bluford made his dreams of flying among the stars a reality on this day in 1983, becoming the first African-American astronaut in space. Bluford logged well over 600 hours in space before retiring, and still managed to accomplish goals even beyond his historic achievement. Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. was born November 22, 1942 […]

  Charles Bolden Jr., NASA’s first Black administrator, was nominated for the post in 2009 by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate that same year. Bolden nearly saw his career take another course in the early ’60’s, but he used his connections and a bit of humility to aid his quest to enter […]