The pioneering spirit and groundbreaking achievements of Black astronauts and cosmonauts have profoundly shaped the history of space exploration. Here are a few key trailblazers. Robert Lawrence Jr.

Ed Dwight is featured in NatGeo's "The Space Race," a NatGeo film now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. This story first appeared in a USA TODAY special section, on newsstands now. Ed Dwight should have ...

NASA is sending the first Black and first female astronauts to the moon in an upcoming launch, marking the first journey to ...

Ed Dwight grew up in segregated 1930s Kansas on a farm on the edge of town. An airfield was within walking distance, and, as a boy, he'd often go to marvel at the planes and gawk at the pilots. Most ...

Ed Dwight, a 90-year-old artist and former Air Force test pilot who was denied a chance to become the first African American astronaut six decades ago, finally rocketed into space on Sunday, ...

African American astronaut Mae Jemison, left, smiles as suit technician Sharon McDougle performs an unpressurized and pressurized leak check on her spacesuit prior to the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission on ...