Black Pioneers in Aerospace

The Cal Poly Aerospace Engineering Department would like to celebrate the contributions of Black people in aerospace engineering. We will look back on these pioneers and their accomplishments and look toward what will be achieved in the future.
Photo: NASA/Wikipedia

Bernard A. Harris Jr.

Bernard A. Harris Jr. is the first African American to perform an extra-vehicular activity, during the second of his two Space Shuttle flights.
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Photo: George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images

Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman was the first African American woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license.
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Photo: NASA

Dorothy Vaughan

Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematician at Langley Research Center, was the first African American woman to become a manager there.
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Photo: NASA

Guion Bluford Jr.

Guion Bluford Jr. is a retired U.S. Air Force officer, fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut. He is the first African American to go to space.
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Photo: NASA/Wikipedia

Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson's calculations of orbital mechanics were critical to the success of U.S. crewed spaceflights.
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Photo: NASA/Wikipedia

Mae Jemison

Mae Jemison is the first African American woman to travel into space. She served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
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Photo: NASA

Mary Jackson

Mary Jackson, a mathematician and aerospace engineer at NACA and NASA, became NASA's first African American female engineer.
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Photo: NASA/Wikipedia

Victor J. Glover

Victor Glover, a Cal Poly alumnus, is a NASA astronaut. He was the first African American ISS Expedition crewmember to live on the ISS.
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