African-American astronauts are Americans of African descent who have been part of an astronaut program, whether or not they have traveled into space. African-Americans who have been passengers on space-tourist flights are also included in this article, although there is dispute over whether such passengers become "astronauts."[1]
Considered as the first African-American astronaut candidate, Ed Dwight made it to the second round of an Air Force program from which NASA selected astronauts, but was not selected by NASA to be an astronaut. Resigned from the Air Force in 1966 due to racial politics. In May, 2024, Dwight flew on a Blue Origin space tourist launch that traveled more than 100 km above Earth's surface, becoming at age 90 the oldest person to have flown to space.
Astronaut, payload specialist from TERRA SCOUT – US Army Project; retired January 12, 1991. Although he did not fly any shuttle missions during his time as an astronaut, he was the back-up payload specialist to Thomas J. Hennen for the STS-44 mission which deployed a military satellite, undergoing 9 months of astronaut training for the role[11] He was selected as an astronaut through the US Army's Terra Scout program which was created specifically to support STS-44.[12]
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, first person of African descent and first Afro-Latino to fly in space. A Cuban, he flew on a Soviet mission in 1980.
References
^"ARE SPACE TOURISTS ASTRONAUTS?". International Law and Policy Brief. GWU Law. October 11, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2024. the title of astronaut is more than just a distinction for those space travelers serving as envoys of mankind as they explore worlds beyond earth's atmosphere. It is a mark of someone granted special status under international law; a status that will be questioned as more space tourists and entrepreneurs take to the skies.
^ abcPhillips, Kerri (February 8, 2012). "Celebrating Black History Month: NASA's African-American Astronauts". AmericaSpace. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019. Four other African-Americans were selected by NASA as astronauts that did not have the opportunity to fly in space: Livingston Holder, Michael E. Belt, Yvonne Cagle, and Jeanette J. Epps. Each of these dedicated people believed in the advancement of human knowledge and space exploration, and some made the ultimate sacrifice doing what they felt was worth the risk for this endeavor.
^We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program, Chapter 5, University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, 2015, pp. 86-104
^Hoffman, Sarah (March 7, 2019). "A Space Pioneer Charts A Course For Future Astronauts". CrossCut, KCTS9. Retrieved January 28, 2023. He became a satellite countdown controller, worked on classified missions and earned a position with the competitive Manned Spaceflight Engineer program. While training as an astronaut, he witnessed the faces of NASA's space shuttle program shift to include women and minorities, along with the white men who first inspired him.
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