“I’ve had some amazing colleagues before me that really could have done it, and there are some amazing folks that will go behind me.”
Victor Glover, the first Black extended crew member to live on the International Space Station (ISS) said in an interview with The Christian Chronicle days ahead of the launch.
“I wish it would have already been done, but I try not to draw too much attention to it.”
Glover, along with three other colleagues made a successful launch to the ISS on Sunday, November 15.
Their capsule, aptly named “Resilience” after the many challenges this year has brought to people around the globe, is expected to dock Monday (November 16) after 27 hours of flying.
Glover, a California Polytechnic State University alumnus, is not the first Black person to make the journey to the ISS, but he is the first to stay aboard for a long-term mission. His team will be on the station for about six months.
In recent years, NASA has spotlighted Black people’s contributions to the agency’s achievements. The 2016 award-winning film Hidden Figures highlighted the work of Black women to successful historic launches made by NASA.
The NASA Administrator during Barack Obama's presidency, Charles F. Bolden, Jr. shared with the New York Times that Glover has received support from several Black colleagues, including him.
“Several of us have had an opportunity to try to talk with him regularly and try to help put him at ease and help him understand he’s not carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
Bolden, who spent 700 hours in space as an astronaut added, “He shouldn’t feel unusual responsibility because he’s Black. He should just go and be another crew member and have a good time.”
Glover’s historic journey could be followed by another milestone for NASA, with Jeanette Epps becoming the first Black woman to be an ISS crew member. Epps, pictured above, is set to make the trip to ISS next year.
Photos: Getty Images