Who was the first black astronaut in space? / Astronautics Facts

I was just a teenager when Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr. became the first African-American to walk in space. Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Harris became an astronaut in July 1991. But it was on February 9th, 1995 that he became a role model for young black scientists everywhere.

Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr. was the Payload Commander on STS-63, the first flight of a new joint Russian-American Space Program. He logged 198 hours, 29 minutes in space, completed 129 orbits, and traveled over 2.9 million miles. Today, Dr. Harris is President and Founder of the Harris Foundation, which supports math/science education and crime prevention programs for America’s youth.

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