On February 9, 1995, Bernard Harris stepped out of the Space Shuttle Discovery, becoming the first Black person to walk in space. His journey into the cosmos began in his youth, dreaming under the Texas stars, and culminating on that extraordinary day.
Reflecting on his inspiration to become an astronaut, Harris recounted the era when Apollo 11’s moon landing dominated headlines alongside the civil rights struggle. The greatest challenge, he noted, was the color of his skin. After earning his medical degree and completing a residency at the Mayo Clinic, he joined NASA as a flight surgeon.
As a doctor at NASA, Harris researched how human bones react to space travel and even designed a medical device to aid astronauts’ physical adaptations. In 1990, NASA welcomed him into its 13th astronaut group.
In his astronaut career, Harris spent 18 days in space, savoring nearly five hours on his historic spacewalk. Regarding the sensation of floating in space, he described an awe-inspiring view of the blue and white planet against the stark backdrop of stars. During his career at NASA, he traveled more than 7.2 million miles in space.
Harris's 1995 mission STS-63 became symbolic of the burgeoning US-Russia cooperation post-Soviet Union collapse. After decades of rivalry during the Cold War space race, these two superpowers began to collaborate in space exploration. Notably, STS-63 brought NASA’s mission close to the Russian space station Mir, orbiting around it, and included a Russian cosmonaut. These collaborations eventually led to the creation of the International Space Station, launched into orbit in 1998.
After retiring from NASA in 1996, Harris focused on promoting math and science education. In 1998, he established the Harris Institute and Foundation to improve education and well-being in underserved communities. He has also been a board member and CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative and runs a venture capital firm dedicated to the healthcare industry.
