- Blue Origin is preparing to embark on its 25th mission to space.
- Among the 6 crew members will be Ed Dwight, 90 years old.
- JFK selected Dwight to be trained as the first black astronaut in 1961.
Sixty years ago, John F. Kennedy’s White House selected Ed Dwight to train and become the nation’s first black astronaut.
Dwight, with some reluctance, accepted the call. But the young Kansas City native at the time was ultimately not chosen for the role.
Today, at age 90, Dwight is receiving his due.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin announced Thursday its six-member crew that will embark on the company’s 25th space mission aboard the New Shepard rocket.
The crew includes Mason Angel, founder of venture capital firm Industrious Ventures; Sylvain Chiron, founder of the Brasserie Mont Blanc brewery; Kenneth Hess, a pioneering software engineer; Carol Schaller, retired CPA; Gopi Thotakura, a pilot; and Dwight, who will have the opportunity to fly in space more than 60 years after he was first selected for astronaut training.
According to Blue Origin, Dwight’s headquarters is sponsored by Space for Humanity, a non-profit organization that aims to increase opportunities for space travel. No launch date has been announced.
A Blue Origin spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Born in segregated Kansas in 1933, Dwight was an Air Force pilot and the only black officer able to meet the criteria needed to become an astronaut, according to PBS.
Dwight, then in his 20s, was initially hesitant to take on the role after being selected by the Kennedy administration in 1961.
“They told me, ‘They’re going to make a hamburger out of you, Dwight,'” he recalled of asking his superior officers for advice.
The pilot was ultimately never selected for the NASA program. Dwight soon resigned from the Air Force and became a sculptor after earning his master’s degree in sculpture from the University of Denver, PBS reported.
The public almost forgot Dwight’s role as the first black astronaut candidate until National Geographic released a documentary in 2023, “The Space Race,” recognizing some of the first black astronauts in U.S. history.
A spokesperson for Space for Humanity did not respond to a request for comment.
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