African-American astronauts are Americans of African descent who have been part of an astronaut program, regardless of whether they have traveled into space. African-Americans who have been passengers on space-tourist flights are also included in this article, although there is disagreement over whether such passengers should be referred to as "astronauts."
African-American astronauts
Traveled into space
# Image Name &birth date Notes Missions & launch dates 1Guion BlufordNovember 22, 1942First African-American astronaut in spaceSTS-8 (August 30, 1983) STS-61-A (October 30, 1985) STS-39 (April 28, 1991) STS-53 (December 2, 1992)2Ronald McNairOctober 21, 1950†January 28, 1986First Baháʼí in space; died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disasterSTS-41-B (February 3, 1984) STS-51-L (January 28, 1986)3Frederick D. GregoryJanuary 7, 1941First African American to pilot and command a Space Shuttle mission; acting Administrator of NASA, 2005STS-51-B (April 29, 1985) STS-33 (November 22, 1989) STS-44 (November 24, 1991)4Charles BoldenAugust 19, 1946Administrator of NASA, July 17, 2009 – January 20, 2017STS-61-C (January 12, 1986) STS-31 (April 24, 1990) STS-45 (March 24, 1992) STS-60 (February 3, 1994)5Mae JemisonOctober 17, 1956First African-American woman in spaceSTS-47 (September 12, 1992)6Bernard A. Harris Jr.June 26, 1956First African American to walk in spaceSTS-55 (April 26, 1993) STS-63 (February 3, 1995)7Winston E. ScottAugust 6, 1950Veteran of three spacewalksSTS-72 (January 11, 1996) STS-87 (November 19, 1997)8Robert CurbeamMarch 5, 1962Veteran of seven spacewalksSTS-85 (August 7, 1997) STS-98 (February 7, 2001) STS-116 (December 9, 2006)9Michael P. AndersonDecember 25, 1959†February 1, 2003Died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disasterSTS-89 (January 22, 1998) STS-107 (January 16, 2003)10Stephanie WilsonSeptember 27, 1966STS-121 (July 4, 2006) STS-120 (October 23, 2007) STS-131 (April 5, 2010)11Joan HigginbothamAugust 3, 1964STS-116 (December 9, 2006)12Alvin DrewNovember 5, 1962 Veteran of two spacewalks, February 28 and March 2, 2011STS-118 (August 8, 2007) STS-133 (February 24, 2011)13Leland D. MelvinFebruary 15, 1964Associate Administrator for Education at NASASTS-122 (February 7, 2008) STS-129 (November 16, 2009)14Robert SatcherSeptember 22, 1965EVA November 19 and November 23, 2009STS-129 (November 16, 2009)15Victor GloverApril 30, 1976Joined ISS Expedition 64 as first African-American on an ISS Expedition. He flew around the moon during the Artemis II mission, becoming the first African-American to travel beyond low earth orbit.SpaceX Crew-1 (November 15, 2020) Artemis II (April 1, 2026)16Sian ProctorMarch 28, 1970First African American female Spacecraft Pilot, as part of Inspiration4. First African American commercial Astronaut.Inspiration4 (September 16, 2021)17Michael StrahanNovember 21, 1971First African American space touristBlue Origin NS-19 (December 11, 2021)18Jessica WatkinsMay 14, 1988First African American woman to be an ISS expedition crew member SpaceX Crew-4 (April 27, 2022)19Jaison RobinsonSeptember 25, 1980Blue Origin NS-21 (June 4, 2022)20 Jeanette J. EppsNovember 2, 1970On August 4, 2023, NASA announced that Epps would join SpaceX Crew-8 that launched to space on March 4, 2024. SpaceX Crew-8 (March 4, 2024)21Ed DwightSeptember 9, 1933Considered as the first African-American astronaut candidate, Ed Dwight made it to the second round of an Air Force program from which NASA selected astronauts, but was not selected by NASA to be an astronaut. Resigned from the Air Force in 1966 due to racial politics. In May, 2024, Dwight flew on a Blue Origin space tourist launch that traveled more than 100 km above Earth's surface, becoming at age 90 the oldest person to have flown to space. Blue Origin NS-25 (May 19, 2024)We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program, Chapter 5, University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, 2015, pp. 86-10423Christopher WilliamsOctober 19, 1983First African American to travel to space on board a Soyuz spacecraftSoyuz MS-28 (November 27, 2025)
Never traveled into space
Image Name & birth date Notes Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.October 2, 1935†December 8, 1967First African-American astronaut; selected for astronaut training in 1967 for the MOL program; died in an aircraft accidentLivingston L. Holder Jr.September 29, 1956USAF astronaut in the Manned Spaceflight Engineer ProgramMichael E. BeltSeptember 9, 1957Astronaut, payload specialist from TERRA SCOUT – US Army Project; retired January 12, 1991. Although he did not fly any shuttle missions during his time as an astronaut, he was the back-up payload specialist to Thomas J. Hennen for the STS-44 mission which deployed a military satellite, undergoing 9 months of astronaut training for the role He was selected as an astronaut through the US Army's Terra Scout program which was created specifically to support STS-44. Yvonne CagleApril 24, 1959 In NASA management Andre DouglasDecember 11, 1985 Backup crew member for Artemis II, primary crew member for Artemis III
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