He Became The Oldest Person To Go To Space At 90-Years-Old
Six decades ago, Ed Dwight, now 90-years-old, was a candidate for the first African American astronaut.
However, the former Air Force test pilot was not selected. On May 19, Dwight finally got the chance to go to space, becoming the oldest person to reach space.
He, along with five others, were strapped into a New Shepard capsule developed by Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin.
Dwight’s crewmates included a retired accountant, a software engineer, an Indian pilot, a French entrepreneur, and a venture capitalist.
They launched into space that sunny morning from a site in West Texas. It was the company’s first New Shepard flight with passengers aboard since an engine nozzle failure occurred two years ago during a research flight without anyone on board. Last year, the same mission was attempted again, with success.
The recent passenger flight lasted 10 minutes. A rocket shot Dwight and his crewmates up to an altitude of 185,000 feet at 2,100 miles per hour before releasing the capsule they were in.
They reached an altitude of 65 miles, where they were able to unstrap themselves and experience three minutes of weightlessness.
When the spacecraft descended for its landing, one of its three main parachutes failed to puff up fully, but luckily, it was designed to touch down safely with just two parachutes, so the crew had no problems.
Dwight is the oldest person to have traveled to space, at 90 years and eight months old. He beat out actor William Shatner, who rode aboard a New Shepard in 2021 at the age of 90.
Benoît – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
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The third oldest astronaut is Wally Funk, who joined Bezos for Blue Origin’s first piloted flight at 82-years-old.
In the early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy announced that he wanted an African American to be part of NASA’s astronaut corps. Dwight trained in the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base.
He passed the first round of training, but ultimately, he was not selected to be an astronaut. He resigned from the Air Force with the rank of captain in 1966.
Later on, he earned a master of fine arts degree in sculpture. He currently owns and operates Ed Dwight Studios in Denver. At long last, he was finally able to fulfill his dream of going into space.
It costs around $500,000 per ticket to fly in a New Shepard. Dwight’s seat was sponsored by the non-profit organization Space For Humanity and the Jaison and Jamie Robinson Foundation.
It is believed that Dwight’s crewmates paid for their own seats, but the exact costs are unknown.
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