He missed a chance to be the first Black astronaut. Now, at 90, he’s going into space
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By Scott Neuman, NPR
Edward J. Dwight Jr. has waited a long time for his ride into space.
In the 1960s, he seemed poised to become America’s first Black astronaut. That dream was never realized. Now, at age 90, he’s about to finally get his shot, aboard a Blue Origin rocket.
The opportunity is “a curiosity more than anything else,” Dwight says. “They called me up and asked me if I was interested. And of course I said yes.”
While Dwight won’t be the first African American in space — that honor went to Guion Bluford Jr. in 1983 — he will be the oldest person to go there, edging out (by a few months) Star Trek actor William Shatner, who flew aboard a Blue Origin rocket in 2021.
[…]
Dwight sees his upcoming spaceflight as the “climax to an interesting story.”
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