Guion Bluford became the first African-American to fly in space. Launch of Challenger occurred at 2:32 a.m. on August 30, 1983 from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, marking the first night liftoff for the shuttle program. Commander Dick Truly, pilot Dan Brandenstein and mission specialists Bluford, Dale Gardner and Bill Thornton deployed the commercial Insat 1B satellite for India.