Back إد دوايت Arabic Ed Dwight DAG Ed Dwight French Էտ Տուայթ HYW Ed Dwight IG Ed Dwight Dutch Ed Dwight Portuguese Ed Dwight SIMPLE
Ed Dwight | |
|---|---|
 Dwight in Air Force uniform | |
| Born | Edward Joseph Dwight Jr. September 9, 1933 Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Education | Kansas City Junior College (AA) Arizona State University, Tempe (BS) University of Denver (MFA) |
| Known for | Work as a professional sculptor, and becoming the oldest person to ever fly in space. |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1953–1966 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Awards | Air Force Commander's Award for Public Service |
| Space career | |
| Spaceflight participant | |
Flight time | 9m 53s |
| Selection | Space for Humanity (2024) |
| Missions | Blue Origin NS-25 |
Mission insignia |  |
| Website | www.eddwight.com |
Edward Joseph Dwight Jr. (born September 9, 1933) is an American sculptor, author, retired test pilot, and astronaut. Enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1953, he earned a commission as a lieutenant in 1955. In 1961, at the direction of President John F. Kennedy, Dwight became the first African American to enter the Air Force training program from which NASA selected astronauts.[1] Although he completed training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1963[1] and advanced to the second round of the program, he was controversially not selected for the Astronaut Corps.[2][3]
Dwight eventually traveled into space as part of the Blue Origin NS-25 mission in 2024, becoming the oldest person to ever participate in a spaceflight, a record previously held by William Shatner.[4] In 2020, he became an honorary member of the U.S. Space Force during a ceremony at the Pentagon.[5]
An accomplished sculptor, Dwight has completed a number of public monuments, including the Texas African American History Memorial on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol, and the African American History Monument on the grounds of the South Carolina State House.[6]
- ^ a b O'Kane, Caitlin (April 25, 2024). "He hoped to be the first Black astronaut in space, but never made it. Now 90, he's going". CBS News. Archived from the original on December 31, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
- ^ Wattles, Jackie; Chakraborty, Deblina (May 19, 2024). "Blue Origin launches six tourists to the edge of space after nearly two-year hiatus". CNN. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- ^ We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program, Chapter 5, University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, 2015, pp. 86-104
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "African American History Monument | Historic Columbia". www.historiccolumbia.org. Archived from the original on January 4, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.