American Sculptor to Honour First Nigerian Astronaut, Chief Owolabi Salis, with Monument

Renowned American sculptor and space monument designer, Steve Barber, has announced plans to honour Nigerian-American lawyer and astronaut, Chief Owolabi Salis, with a specially commissioned monument in recognition of his historic spaceflight.

Chief Salis made history in June 2025 when he became the first Nigerian-born individual to travel beyond the Kármán line the internationally recognized boundary of space as part of Blue Origin’s NS-33 mission. The spaceflight placed him among a select group of fewer than 750 individuals worldwide to have crossed this threshold.

According to Barber, who has designed over 30 monuments for astronauts and space heroes globally, the planned structure will be crafted with materials intended to last a thousand years and will feature engraved inspirational citations.

The monument will be unveiled in the United States on July 4, 2026, before being relocated to Salis’s hometown of Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria.

“This is no ordinary feat,” Barber said. “Out of over 117 billion people who have ever lived on Earth, only a few hundred have travelled into space. Chief Salis’s journey is not only a personal milestone but a national honour for Nigeria.”

He further called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu to formally recognise the achievement, describing Salis as a “global ambassador for Nigeria and a symbol of African excellence in space exploration.

Chief Salis, who is also known for his extensive travels to more than 120 countries and visits to both the Arctic and Antarctic regions in a single season, expressed pride in representing Nigeria in such a pioneering capacity.

The monument, Barber noted, will serve as a beacon of inspiration for Nigerians and people of African descent, especially young aspirants in science and space technology.