[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1466 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                    September 22, 2008.
Whereas Dr. Guion S. ``Guy'' Bluford, Jr., born in West Philadelphia, 
        Pennsylvania, was trained as an aerospace engineer and an Air Force 
        pilot, conducted several combat missions, logged over 5,000 hours on 
        numerous aircraft, conducted scientific research on computational fluid 
        dynamics, and became a National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        (NASA) astronaut in 1979;
Whereas in the early morning hours of August 30, 1983, Dr. Bluford became the 
        first African-American to enter outer space as a crew member of the STS-
        8 space shuttle mission;
Whereas Dr. Bluford's pioneering STS-8 flight was the first mission to both 
        launch and land at night;
Whereas this mission successfully deployed a satellite, tested operations of the 
        shuttle's robotic arm, and released Getaway Special canisters to support 
        science experiments;
Whereas on October 30, 1985, Dr. Bluford launched with the crew of STS 61-A, the 
        first shuttle crew to include 8 members, to conduct the United States-
        German cooperative D-1 Spacelab mission that was dedicated to advancing 
        our understanding of the human vestibular and orientation systems and to 
        conducting microgravity research in materials science, life sciences, 
        and communication and navigation;
Whereas Dr. Bluford went on to successfully complete 2 additional shuttle 
        missions with the space shuttle Discovery's launch of the STS-39 on 
        April 28, 1991, and the STS-53 on December 2, 1992;
Whereas among his other technical assignments, Dr. Bluford worked on space 
        shuttle systems, the shuttle robotic arm, payload safety and flight 
        software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory and 
        the Flight Systems Laboratory, and on Spacelab systems and experiments;
Whereas in remarking on his pioneering role as the first African-American in 
        space, Dr. Bluford recounted, ``I wanted to set the standard, do the 
        best job possible so that other people would be comfortable with 
        African-Americans in space and African-Americans would be proud of being 
        participants in the space program . . . and encourage others to do the 
        same.''; and
Whereas in 1993, Dr. Bluford left NASA and retired as a Colonel in the Air Force 
        to continue his distinguished service to the United States space program 
        through leadership positions in private industry and space-related 
        organizations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) salutes the 25th anniversary of the pioneering accomplishments 
        of Dr. Guion ``Guy'' S. Bluford, Jr. as the first African-American in 
        space; and
            (2) extends its gratitude and deep appreciation for Dr. Bluford's 
        dedication, commitment, and excellence as an astronaut and a leader in 
        support of the Nation's space program.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.