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Wednesday, Jul. 3, 2024

Was a 90-year-old Denver man who recently rocketed to space America’s first Black astronaut?

Justin George, The Colorado Sun
no

Ed Dwight, a Denver-based sculptor who rode in a private spaceship in May, was chosen by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to become the nation’s first Black astronaut candidate, but NASA didn’t pick him for its space program. 

NASA didn’t admit a Black astronaut until 1967. Guion Bluford became the first Black U.S. astronaut in space in 1983.

After he was passed over by NASA, Dwight, a retired Air Force captain, worked as an entrepreneur before embarking on a five-decade career as a sculptor focused on Black history, with more than 130 works on display in museums across the country.

A nonprofit committed to making space accessible to everyone and a foundation sponsored Dwight to become one of six passengers aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard program’s 25th mission to space. Blue Origin is a company started by billionaire Jeff Bezos that offers private flights to space.

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