Black History, Into Space: Guion 'Guy' Bluford, Jr., Ronald Erwin McNair and Frederick Gregory

GUION "GUY" BLUFORD, JR. (1942-present)

A retired United States Air Force colonel.  he was the first black astronaut into space as a member of the Challenger Space Shuttle crew in 1983.

He took part in four space shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992.

*******************************

RONALD ERWIN McNAIR  (1950-1986)

Ronald Erwin McNair was the second black person into space and sadly, was on the ill-fated  Space Shuttle Challenger and met his death January 28, 1986.

*******************************

FREDERICK D. GREGORY (1941-present)

A veteran of 3 space shuttle missions.

The USS Simpson (FFG-56)-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

This is a follow up to the last post I did.

The USS Simpson, (FFG-56) was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate named for Rear Admiral Rodger W. Simpson who fought in World War II.

It was commissioned 21 September 1985 and decommissioned 29 September 2015.  The ship was 453 feet long and had a 45-foot beam and crew of 205.

Soon after commissioning it took part in the search and rescue effort after the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion.

--Cooter

Challenger, Columbia Wreckage on Display for First Time

From the August 2, 2015, Yahoo! News/AP by Maurice Dunn.

For the first time, NASA has a new exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center showing one piece from each shuttle as well as reminders of the 14 astronauts who died in their explosions.

The intent of the exhibit is to show how they lived rather than died.

Among the personal items:  Challenger commander Francis "Dick" Scobee's leather helmet he wore from the StarJuster biplane he and his wife used to fly and his blue "TFNG" t-shirt from the astronaut class of 1979 which was nicknamed the "Thirty-Five New Guys."

Columbia commander Rick Husband's scuffed cowboy boots and well-worn open to Proverbs will also be shown.

Each of the 14 astronauts will have an individual display case.

The Columbia blew p Feb. 1, 2003, and 42 tons of debris was collected.

The Challenger blew up January 28, 1986.