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Charles Bolden
b. August 1946
In 1960s America, racial segregation extended to the stars. Space itself was restricted, and for a black child growing up in South Carolina, dreams of space flight were grounded by the idea of that frontier as accessible only to white pilots. But for Charles F. Bolden -- whose childhood fascinations eventually fueled an extraordinary career -- the boundaries of racism were not enough to confine his ambition.
As a young Marine, Bolden received encouragement from Ron McNair (the second African American to journey into space) that inspired Bolden's climb toward the cosmos. After being refused a nomination to the U.S. Naval Academy by South Carolina's state representatives, Bolden's letter to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson led to a nomination from a Chicago congressman. The young pilot served as an aviator before becoming a NASA astronaut, and suddenly space went from impossible to tangible -- a realm he would not only journey to, but one he could leave his mark on. As pilot and then commander on four momentous shuttle missions, Bolden created a legacy that would make him the first African American appointed administrator of NASA, and help him develop innovations such as the deep-space vessel, the Orion. A member of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame and the National Aviation Hall of Fame, Bolden's impact now extends from the near skies to the far reaches of outer space. |