A Nigerian lawyer, Owolabi Salis, has made history as the first from the country to travel to space.
Salis achieved the feat after joining Blue Origin’s NS-33 mission, which launched from West Texas on Sunday, June 29.
The suborbital flight lasted about 10 minutes and crossed the Kármán line—the internationally recognized boundary of space—reaching a peak altitude of 105.2 kilometres.
He was joined on the mission by Carl Kuehner, Jim Sitkin, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno Jr., and Allie Kuehner.
Speaking ahead of the flight, Salis described the experience as “more than just a trip into space,” calling it a “spiritual journey and a call to inspire future generations.”
Salis is no stranger to exploration milestones. He had earlier made headlines as the first Black African to visit both the Arctic and Antarctic within the same season.