The story of Ed Dwight, the first Black US astronaut candidate to become the oldest person to reach space

 Ed Dwight, the first black astronaut candidate in the United States (US), finally launched into space after waiting for 60 years, he flew with Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, on Sunday (19/4/2024)

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Dwight was an Air Force pilot when President John F. Kennedy nominated him as a candidate for NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) initial astronaut corps. However, he was not selected in the class of 1963.

Dwight, who is now 90 years old, experienced several minutes of zero gravity with five other passengers aboard the Blue Origin capsule as it hurtled through space on a roughly 10-minute flight. He called it a "life-changing experience."

"I don't think I really need this in my life," Dwight said moments after exiting the capsule. "But, now, I feel like I need it in my life. I'm very happy," he said.

The short flight from West Texas made Dwight the new record holder as the oldest person ever to space — nearly two months older than “Star Trek” actor William Shatner when he flew in 2021.

This launch was Blue Origin's first launch after being stopped for almost 2 years due to an accident that occurred in 2022 when the booster fell, but the capsule containing the experiment plunged safely to the ground.

Flights resumed in December 2023, but there was no one on board. This is the seventh time Blue Origin has flown space tourists.

Ed Dwight Background

Dwight, a sculptor from Denver, along with four business entrepreneurs from the US and France and a retired accountant were on the space flight.

Their ticket prices were not published and Dwight's tickets were sponsored in part by the nonprofit Space for Humanity.

Dwight was among the astronaut candidates the Air Force recommended to NASA. However, he was not selected for the class of 1963, which ultimately selected the Gemini and Apollo astronauts, including Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

NASA only chose a black astronaut in 1978, and Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space in 1983. Three years earlier, the Soviets launched the first black astronaut, Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, a Cuban citizen of African descent.

After leaving the military in 1966, Dwight joined IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) and founded a construction company before earning a master's degree in sculpture in the late 1970s.

Since then he has dedicated himself to art. His statues focus on black history and include memorials and monuments across the country. Some of his statues have flown into space.

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