AMERICA | 90-year-old man makes history as oldest person enter space from earth, calls earth a “little ball”.
Ed Dwight, a 90-year-old man and former astronaut candidate, has made history as the oldest person to enter space, 60 years after narrowly missing the chance to do so.
Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, flew into space with Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin. In the early 1960s, Dwight was selected by President John F. Kennedy to be part of the U.S. space program.
As an Air Force pilot, Dwight was among 26 candidates recommended by the Air Force to NASA for consideration as astronauts.
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However, in 1963, he was not selected among the final 14 astronauts. His chances took a further hit after Kennedy’s assassination, and Dwight left the Air Force in 1966.
Reflecting on his experience, Dwight says he holds no bitterness. “It opened the world to me,” he shared, recalling how it gave him the opportunity to meet senators, congressmen, and business leaders.
After leaving the military, Dwight earned a master’s degree in fine arts and pursued a successful career in sculpture, creating works of notable Black figures like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Barack Obama.
Sixty years after his first brush with space exploration, Dwight was recommended for a seat on a Blue Origin flight, sponsored in part by the nonprofit Space for Humanity.
He said his 10-minute sub-orbital flight was a life-changing experience for Dwight, who became the new record-holder for the oldest person in space. “I thought I didn’t need this in my life. But now, I know I needed it. I am ecstatic,” Dwight said after the flight.
Reflecting on the view of Earth from space, Dwight said he would recommend every congressman and senator experience such a flight.”From that height, you realize the absurdity of racism. We’re on this little ball flying around the galaxy,” he said.
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