Careers in astronomy and space require a lot of attention to detail and education. The requirements and standards to participate in these programs are some of the highest and most competitive careers. Let’s take a look at some of the successes.
Doctor Harvey Washington Banks
This great man was born February 7,1923, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At a very young age his family moved to Washington, DC where most of his formal education took place.
In 1946 he earned his B.Sc. in Physics and then he went on to earn a M.Sc. in physics in 1948. He worked as a research assistant at the Georgetown College Observatory during the time that he was writing his doctorate. In 1961 he became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in astronomy.
Beth A Brown
Dr. Beth A Brown was able to take her vast knowledge outside of the academic world and find a great paying job with the Astrophysics Data Facility at NASA in Greenbelt Maryland. She has written many papers and serves as a mentor to many young scientists and astronomers.
Guion Bluford,Jr.
Coming to you from the International Hall of Fame is Guion “Guy” Bluford, Jr. While attending high school in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Guy was told he was not college material. His school counselor suggested that a trade school would be a good option. With plenty of hard work he made it through college and earned a master’s degree in of science with a distinction in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Guion Bluford first mission was aboard the space shuttle Challenger on August 30th, 1983. It was the first Challenger mission that had both a night take off and a night landing.
Gurion Bufrod served on three more shuttle missions during his distinguished career with NASA.
Dr. Mae C Jamison
This woman could be classified as brilliant. At the age of sixteen she completed high school and began her studies at Stanford. She was able to complete two majors while she was an undergraduate. On September 12th, 1992 she was the first African American woman to travel into space.
Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.
Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. has a bitter sweet story. He was the first African American to be named an astronaut in the space program. Just a few months later he died during a training flight that crashed at Edwards Air Force Base located in California.
There is an Astronauts Memorial Foundation Space Mirror to honor those who give their life on space missions and training for missions and his name was placed there in 1997, the 17th name added.
By no means are these all of the greats, but it does give us a glimpse of those who had a dream and followed it through. These African American professionals hold an important part in the history of space exploration.
