Mandla Maseko, 30, the first black African who would have travelled to space has died; his family has confirmed his passing over the weekend.
Mandla, popularly known as Spaceboy and Afronaut – beat 1 million people to become one of 23 people who won a seat sponsored by Axe Apollo Space Academy, on an hour long sub-orbital trip in 2014.
However, his trip to space was not meant to be after he was hit by a car while riding his motorbike on Saturday.
“He was a larger than life. We are all still reeling at the moment. We are very distraught because most people only found out Sunday morning. It is still very hard, painful and tragic,” his business manager and close friend Sthembile Shabangu.
She added: “He put a lot of people first and was an ambitious person with big dreams.”
Shabangu said that even though Maseko did not end up going to space, he would have wanted his hope to spread.
Maseko a Soshanguve resident, went on to train as a private pilot and became a corporal with the South African National Defence Force. Shabangu said that as a public speaker and community worker, Maseko worked to inspire many African Children to pursue careers in science.
He was an avid biker with the Tshwane Legend Bikers.
In 2016 he was honoured by the Gauteng Department of Education and had the science building at the Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation named after him.
Details of his memorial service and funeral will be announced during the cause of this week, Shabangu said.
