Six decades after being overlooked by NASA to become America’s first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight finally achieved his dream of reaching space on Sunday at the age of 90.
The pioneering Air Force pilot soared aboard a Blue Origin rocket in a history-making suborbital flight from West Texas.
Dwight and five fellow passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness as the New Shepard capsule momentarily crossed the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space about 66 miles above Earth.
“I thought I really didn’t need this in my life,” Dwight said upon landing. “But, now, I need it in my life….I am ecstatic.”
The brief up-and-down journey allowed Dwight to claim the record as the oldest person ever to reach space, nearly two months older than “Star Trek” actor William Shatner when he flew on a Blue Origin mission in 2021 at age 90.
Dwight’s inclusion on the flight marked a long-overdue opportunity. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy had championed Dwight as a candidate for NASA’s astronaut corps during the space agency’s early years. However, he was ultimately not selected for the historic 1963 astronaut class.
NASA did not select its first Black astronauts until 1978, with Guion Bluford becoming the first African American in space five years later. The Soviet Union launched the first Black astronaut of African descent, Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez from Cuba, in 1980.
After leaving the military in 1966, Dwight forged a successful career in technology and construction before finding his passion as a sculptor. His art often celebrates Black history and achievements.
On Sunday’s flight, Dwight was joined by four paying crewmates from the business world and one other sponsored seat representing the nonprofit Space for Humanity. It marked Blue Origin’s seventh crewed spaceflight but first with astronauts in nearly two years following a booster accident in 2022.
For Dwight, the culmination of his astronaut dreams six decades after being passed over represents an inspiring tale of perseverance and a milestone achievement for diversity in space exploration.
This report has information obtained from The Associated Press