*Tributes continue to pour in for the South African man who was expected to become the first black African in space but suffered a fatal accident before he could fulfill his dream.
Six years ago, 30-year-old Mandla Maseko beat a million contenders to win a spot on the Axe Apollo Space Academy venture. In 2015, he spent a week training at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. His family said he was known as “Spaceboy” and “Afronaut,” and was one of 23 people who won a seat on the trip to space.
Sadly, Maseko was killed in a motorcycle accident on Saturday (July 6), his business manager and close friend Sthembile Shabangu confirmed in a media release.
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NEWS: Mandla Maseko, who beat a million people to win a sub-orbital trip that could have seen him become the first black African in space, has reportedly been killed in a motorcycle crash.#RIPMandlaMaseko pic.twitter.com/ou2bPRoNrI
— Phil Mphela (@PhilMphela) July 7, 2019
“Maseko will be sorely missed,” Shabangu said. “May Mandla Maseko’s kind and beautiful soul rest in eternal peace.”
via msn.com:
The space flight was scheduled to be an hour-long sub-orbital trip on the Lynx Mark II spaceship. However it had not yet happened at the time of Maseko’s passing — and it’s possible that it never will, as Space.com reported that the company organizing the flight, XCOR Aerospace, went bankrupt two years ago.
Fans have flooded social media with an outpouring of grief, check out some of their responses below.
“There were still rocket tests happening before they could go up,” Shabangu said. “He really thought that if he went up to space he could inspire young African children that they could do anything. He used to always say that the sky was no longer the limit.”
Maseko’s memorial service will be held in Pretoria on Thursday and the funeral service will take place in Mabopane on Saturday. He will be laid to rest at the Zandfontein Cemetery in Tshwane.
Just heard that legendary Mandla “Spaceboy” Maseko, our very astronaut has passed on. @MandlaMaseko1
May your soul fly with the angels, RIP sir!#RIPMandlaMaseko pic.twitter.com/e6yy20cSrU— Mandla Nhleko (@Mgilija5) July 7, 2019
If the news of his death are true are true, may his soul rest in eternal peace.
Mandla Maseko’s life is said to have been cut short after an accident last night. pic.twitter.com/AgrtKhCU4G— Thato Mahlangu (@YoungAchieverSA) July 7, 2019
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