After not becoming the first Black astronaut in space, Edward J. Dwight Jr. is headed there at 90 [Video]

American Edward J. Dwight Jr., the first Black astronaut candidate, will realize his dreams of space flight at 90 — decades after he was recommended to NASA under the Kennedy administration — when he launches on board Blue Origin’s first crewed spaceflight since the company last launched in Aug. 2022. The space firm, founded by Jeff Bezos, announced the six crew member flight on April 4, and said the launch date would be “soon.”Dwight said space at this age is “a curiosity more than anything else,” and said the company called him up “and asked me if I was interested. And of course I said yes,” NPR reported. Dwight will fly on Blue Origin’s 25th mission with New Shepard along with Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller and Gopi Thotakura.His seat on the craft will be sponsored by Space for Humanity— a non profit with a mission to democratize access to space for humanity. Additional sponsorship …