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Mandla Maseko, 30, the first black African who has traveled in space is dead, confirmed his family Sunday.
Maseko, better known as Spaceboy and Afronaut, beat a million people to become one of 23 people to win a seat sponsored by the Axis Apollo Space Academy, during a trip suborbital one hour in 2014.
However, his trip to space was not supposed to be after being hit by a car while driving his motorcycle on Saturday.
"He was larger than life, we are all still in shock, we are very helpless because most people have only discovered it this morning, it is still very hard, painful and tragic." said its commercial director, Sthembile Shabangu. told News24.
Shabangu said that even though Maseko had not ended up going into space, he would have wanted his hope to spread.
"There was still some rocket tests before he could get in. He really thought that if he climbed into space, he could inspire young African kids to whatever." He always said that the sky was no longer the limit. "
She added, "He put a lot of people first and was an ambitious person with big dreams."
As a resident of Soshanguve, Maseko went on to become a private pilot and became a corporal with the South African National Defense Force.
Shabangu said that as a speaker and community worker, Maseko's goal was to inspire many African children to pursue a scientific career.
He was a pbadionate biker with the Tshwane Legend Bikers.
In 2016, he was honored by the Gauteng Department of Education and gave his name to the science building of the Curtis Nkondo School of Specialization.
The details of his memorial service and funeral will be announced during this week, Shabangu said.
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