Ed Dwight, First Black Astronaut Candidate, Finally Reaches Space

May 20, 2024

Ed Dwight, who was America’s first Black astronaut candidate, made a historic trip into space on May 19 with Jeff Bezos’s company, Blue Origin. This event was a big deal because it happened 60 years after he was first suggested for NASA’s astronaut corps. Dwight set a new record as the oldest person to fly to space when he felt weightless for a few minutes. He was 90 years old.

Ed Dwight’s Early Career and NASA’s Rejection

In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy pushed Ed Dwight, a skilled Air Force pilot, to become one of NASA’s first astronauts. Even though the Air Force suggested Dwight, he wasn’t chosen for the 1963 astronaut class that included famous people like Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. This class went on to be very important in NASA’s Gemini and Apollo programs. Dwight’s absence brought to light the problems and restrictions that race caused in the space program at that time. It wasn’t until 1978 that NASA chose its first Black pilots. In 1983, Guion Bluford was the first African American to go into space.

Ed Dwight’s Professional Shift and Contributions to Art

After leaving the service in 1966, Dwight did a variety of jobs, such as working for IBM and starting his own construction company. He changed his focus to the arts after getting his master’s degree in sculpture in the late 1970s. Dwight is now famous for making sculptures that honour Black history. Many of these sculptures, such as memorials and statues, have been put up all over the United States. Some of his art has even been sent into space, which is pretty cool.

More About Blue Origin space tourism

Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000.
The company focuses on rocket-powered vertical takeoff and vertical landing spacecraft for space tourism and suborbital to orbital flights.
Its New Shepard spacecraft, named after astronaut Alan Shepard, offers suborbital spaceflights, reaching altitudes above the Kármán line.
The first crewed flight of New Shepard occurred on July 20, 2021, with Jeff Bezos aboard.
Unlike its competitor SpaceX, Blue Origin hasn’t achieved orbital flight yet.
Blue Origin is developing the New Glenn rocket, which promises to carry heavier payloads.
The company is also involved in the Artemis lunar program through its Blue Moon lander.

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