Blue Origin Sends 90-Year-Old Astronaut into Space

On May 19, Blue Origin successfully completed its seventh human spaceflight and the 25th flight for the New Shepard program.

The astronaut crew included former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who was selected by President John F. Kennedy as the nation's first Black astronaut candidate but never had the opportunity to fly.

Dwight, who was born in Kansas City in 1933, is now the oldest person who was sent into space. At the age of 90, he is older than actor William Shatner was when he was sent into space.

In 1961, Dwight was chosen by President Kennedy to enter training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), an elite U.S. Air Force flight training program known as a pathway for entering the NASA Astronaut Corps.

Two years later, after successfully completing the ARPS program, he was recommended by the U.S. Air Force for the NASA Astronaut Corps.

Ultimately, however, he was not among those selected. He entered private life in 1966 and spent a decade as an entrepreneur before dedicating his life's work to using sculpture as a medium to tell the story of Black history.

He has spent the last five decades creating large-scale monuments of iconic Black figures, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. His more than 130 public works are installed in museums and public spaces across the U.S. and Canada.

Dwight was honored on the Blue Origin NS-25 mission patch. The Gemini spacecraft symbol represents his aerospace training era, and the hand lifting the crew capsule is a nod to his extensive artwork.