Edward J. Dwight Jr., who missed dream of becoming the first Black Astronaut, an honor that would go to Guion Bluford Jr., will finally go into space at 90 years old, according to a report.
Six decades after his first attempt, Dwight is finally getting his chance to board the next Blue Origin rocket and ride into space.
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."
Dwight's trip to space will solidify his title as the oldest person to travel to space, topping Star Trek actor William Shatner by a few months, who flew aboard a Blue Origin rocket in 2021.
When asked about concerns considering the rigors of the upcoming flight and his age, Dwight pointed out that it won't be much different from what he experienced as a test pilot in the Air Force.
"I've pulled more G's than any person on Earth," he told NPR.
"I've been high enough to see the curvature of the earth. I've been doing things like that most of my life."
Dorit Donoviel, a space health expert, explained that the 11-minute flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket means many of the reservations about the long-term effects of orbital and deep-space missions should not present any issues.
No launch date has been confirmed yet. However, Dwight and his crewmates will train for several days prior to liftoff at the company's Launch Site One in western Texas.
Retired NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, who flew two space shuttle missions to the International Space Station, said it will be good to finally see Dwight "get his due" all these years after he first trained for space.
Dwight seemed to be on track in the 1960s to become America's first Black astronaut when President John F. Kennedy insisted on his administration's push for civil rights in the country's early space exploration efforts and had asked for a Black astronaut at the time.
Dwight says he experienced feelings of rejection upon entering the flight-test program that he believes were rooted in racism, revealing that the famed test pilot who ran the school, Chuck Yeager, resented having to accept a Black candidate.
