Ed Dwight emerged victorious from the Blue Origin capsule after a 10-minute ride in space in May. The flight came 60 years after he was training at NASA to become the nation’s first Black astronaut. Photo courtesy of Blue Origin

Ed Dwight isn’t a man who rests on his laurels. At 90, the Park Hill resident says he still has much he wants to accomplish. On May 19, Dwight became the oldest person ever to go into outer space when he rode aboard a Blue Origin rocket for a 10-minute space flight.

For Dwight, it was a trip that should have happened 60 years ago. In the 1960s, Dwight was on track to become the nation’s first Black astronaut, tapped by President John F. Kennedy. He ultimately dropped out of the program after facing hostility at NASA. He went on to become a celebrated sculptor and artist, who has large installations in museums, galleries, and public spaces in cities across the nation. In Denver, he created the Martin Luther King, Jr. sculpture in City Park. Almost all of his pieces celebrate African American heroes.

When Front Porch recently interviewed Dwight about his space flight, he said he could only talk for a few minutes since he was swamped with work. “It’s been non-stop for me since May. I’ve been traveling around the country—around the world, actually—talking to kids, to grownups, to TV stations, and journalists,” says Dwight. “I’m feeling extremely overwhelmed. I hadn’t planned on this.”

Dwight says that he wasn’t nervous about the flight. “I was trained as an astronaut. I was ready to go to space.” But he said he was awestruck by the view. “I was able to look at the world at a different level. The darkness was fascinating. And the dividing line from light to darkness was something I had never experienced.”

In between media and public appearances, Dwight is still hard at work on his art. He says he’s racing to finish six sculpture projects that are behind schedule. “I’m feeling a bit wrapped around the axle right now.”

Read more about Ed Dwight: A Mission to Preserve Black History.