Summary
Abstract
Guion (Guy) Bluford, Jr. is a Penn State alumnus, U.S. Air Force colonel, and NASA astronaut. In 1983, he became the first African American to go into space. Guy Bluford was part of four space shuttle flights between 1983-1992: STS-8, STS-61-A , STS-39, and STS-53. This collection contains materials ranging from Guion S. Bluford's initial selection as an astronaut through his four shuttle missions and ending with his community work and recognitions, spanning over 40 years, from 1978 to 2020. There are formal publications and photographs as well as personal photographs and letters from this time period.
Dates
- Creation: 1969 - 2020
Extent
33 Linear Feet (33 linear feet and 16 film reels) : There are fourteen Paige boxes, one 20" drop front box, one 16" drop front box, five 21" drop front boxes, five 4.5" map tube boxes, and one 39.75" map tube box.
16 Items (There are 16 reels of film varying in size.)
Background
Biographical / Historical
Penn State University graduate (1964), Guy Bluford is a former NASA astronaut with a total of 688 hours in space on four shuttle missions. He was born on November 22, 1942 in Philadelphia, PA, graduated from Overbrook High School, and received his Penn State degree in aerospace engineering before earning advanced degrees in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (MS, 1974 and PhD, 1978) and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston Clear Lake (1987). Participating in the Penn State Air Force ROTC program, Dr. Bluford became a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, served 29 years, was assigned to a fighter squadron during the Vietnam War, and recorded more than 5,200 hours of flight time in ten different aircraft. On October 8, 2021, Bluford returned to Penn State's campus to receive the Penn State Air Force ROTC Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2021; at that time, the building located at 230 Innovation Boulevard was dedicated as the Guion S. Bluford Building.
Dr. Bluford’s first mission was the STS-8 in August 1983 aboard the shuttlecraft Challenger, working as a mission specialist and earning him the distinction as the first African American astronaut to travel in space. The mission crew deployed the Indian National Satellite, took measurements to help understand the biophysical effects of space flights, and circled Earth 98 times before making the first night-time shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. His second mission was also aboard the Challenger, where he supported operation of the German D-1 Spacelab. His last two missions took place on board the shuttle Discovery in 1991 and 1992.
Retired from NASA in 1993, Dr. Bluford has taken leadership positions at the Engineering Services Division of NYMA, the Aerospace Sector of the Federal Data Corporation, and Aerospace Technology, an engineering consulting organization in Cleveland, OH. He is an active alumnus of Penn State, regularly returning for invited lectures, keynotes, commencement speeches, and other festivities.* Penn State’s Alumni Association presented Dr. Bluford with its Distinguished Alumni award in 1983 and the Alumni Fellows Award in 1986. As an American Institute of Aeronautics Fellow, he was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997.
Scope and Contents
Guion S. Bluford, Jr. was part of four space shuttle flights between 1983-1992: STS-8 ,which deployed an Indian satellite in space' STS-61-A, funded and led by West Germany; STS-39; and STS-53. This collection contains materials beginning with his initial selection as an astronaut through his four shuttle missions and ending with his community work and recognitions. It spans over 40 years, beginning in 1978 and going until 2020.
On the technical side of research, there are manuals on the proper use of space shuttle components for each of the shuttles Bluford flew on, mission logs and debriefs, official NASA publications summarizing the missions, and images from space, in space, of launches, of PR events and the like. Intermingled are hundreds of personal photographs from Bluford's experiences during media tours and post-flight events as well as newspaper clippings and aviation publications discussing his role in the missions. There are also some German and Hindi publications related to STS-61-A and STS-8, respectively.
Bluford made a concerted effort during his life to perform community outreach generally, and, specifically, to visit public schools at all grade levels that had large Black populations, many of which were in impoverished communities. He shared his story with the students and offered them motivation. There are hundreds of certificates of appreciation, commendations, proclamations, resolutions, plaques (images), keys to cities (images), and medals issued to Bluford for both his contribution to science and completion of four missions, and also his work to raise the visibility of Black people in science and inspire subsequent generations.
Researchers may be particularly interested in a Penn State football jersey, flown aboard the space shuttlecraft Challenger, that was presented by Bluford to President Bryce Jordan during the halftime ceremonies at the Penn State vs West Virginia football game held at Beaver Stadium. There are also digital files, including digitized photographs and Word documents of Bluford's own written reflections on important parts of his life, including his time in the Air Force, at Penn State, and working for NASA.
Physical Location
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Penn State University Libraries catalog via the link above. Archival collections may be housed in offsite storage. For materials stored offsite, please allow 2-3 business days for retrieval.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Guion S. Bluford, Jr. in 2014.
An additional donation was made by Guion S. Bluford, Jr. on May 2, 2022.
Processing Information
These materials were minimally processed at the point of accessioning.
Mae Casey minimally processed Accession 2022-0016 between May 11 and July 5, 2022. Lexy deGraffenreid and Ben Goldman particpated in this process of rehousing papers and deframing items. The entire collection was re-boxed with any items being removed from binders or scrapbooks and placed into archival grade folders. Framed commendations and certificates were removed and placed in archival grade folders. The sixteen film reels were beginning to disintegrate and were placed in cold storage to stabilize them.
Using These Materials
Repository Details
Part of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library Repository
104 Paterno Library
Penn State University
University Park 16802 USA
(814) 865-1793
spcollections@psu.edu
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is minimally processed and may contain sensitive materials. For information about accessing this collection, please contact the Special Collections Research Services Unit at spcollections@psu.edu. Boxes 10 and 17 contain Personal Identifiable Information and are restricted for 75 years from the date of creation or until the death of the individual.
Technical Access Note
This collection contains audiovisual and born digital materials which may require specialized equipment for access playback. Please contact the Special Collections Research Services Unit at spcollections@psu.edu to learn more about how to access these materials.”
Conditions Governing Use
Photocopies of original materials may be made available for research purposes at the discretion of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library. Photocopies or reproductions of original materials may be subject to fees as outlined by the Pennsylvania State University Libraries reproduction policies.
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. Patrons seeking advice on the availability of unpublished materials for publication should consult relevant copyright law and laws of libel.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Guion S. Bluford, Jr. papers, 09559, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, Pennsylvania State University
- Title
- Guide to the Guion S. Bluford, Jr. papers
- Status
- Unprocessed
- Author
- Compiled by Lexy deGraffenreid. Revised by Mae Casey and Robyn Dyke, 2022
- Date
- 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2020: Lexy deGraffenreid revised this finding aid to conform to minimum standards
- 2021: Robyn Dyke revised this finding aid to identify single items and to update the extent and scope & contents note.