Guion Bluford

“To climb into an airplane and motor up by yourself, it is just amazing.”

“It might be a bad thing to be first , if you stop and think about it. It might be better to be second or third because then you can enjoy it and disappear - return to the society you came out of without someone always poking you in the side and saying you were first.”

“I wanted to set the standard, do the best job possible so that other people would be comfortable with African-Americans flying in space and African-Americans would be proud of being participants in the space program.”

“The crew taped the intercom conversation. There's somebody giggling and laughing all the way up. And we listened to it for quite a while to try and figure out who that was, only to come to the conclusion that it was me. I mean, I laughed and giggled all the way up. It was such a fun ride.”

“I chased my dreams. In the end, find what gets you excited and chase it.”

“The job is so fantastic, you don't need a hobby. The hobby is going to work.”