Dwight

Personal data: Birth date:  09 September 1933(age 92) Birthplace:  Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Marital status:   Children:   Education:  Kansas City Junior College (AA) Arizona State University, Tempe (BS) University of Denver (MFA) Known for:  First African-American to enter the U.S. Air Force program Oldest person to ever fly in space Branch:  United States Air Force Service years:  1953–1966 Rank:  Captain Job:  Tourist Status:  Ret.

Spaceflights:

Additional information:

• Edward Joseph Dwight Jr. (born September 9, 1933) is an American sculptor, author, retired test pilot, and astronaut. Dwight enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1953 and was commissioned a lieutenant in 1955. In 1961, at the direction of President John F. Kennedy, he became the first African American to enter the Air Force training program from which NASA selected astronauts. Although he completed training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1963 and advanced to the second round of the program, he was controversially not selected for the Astronaut Corps.
• Dwight finally traveled into space on 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. In 2020, he became an honorary member of the U.S. Space Force during a ceremony at the Pentagon.