Wally Funk, the American aviation pioneer and the oldest woman to have traveled to space, has died at the age of 87.
Funk passed away at her apartment in a senior living facility in Grapevine, Texas. The news was confirmed by her friend and city council member, Duff O’Dell.
She fulfilled her dream of traveling to space in 2021, when, at the age of 82, she flew aboard Blue Origin’s “New Shepard” rocket alongside Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
At the time, Funk became the oldest person ever to travel to space. Her record was later surpassed, but she continued to hold a special place in the history of space exploration as the oldest woman to complete such a flight.
In the 1960s, she was one of 13 female pilots known as the “Mercury 13,” who underwent tests similar to those given to NASA’s male astronaut candidates. Although they passed the evaluations, women were not allowed to join the astronaut program.
Jeff Bezos honored Funk in a social media message, describing her as an example of perseverance and dedication to pursuing dreams.
“Wally Funk waited 60 years to go to space and no one deserved it more. She trained with the Mercury 13 in 1961, outperformed the men in the tests, and was still told no. She never stopped flying,” Bezos wrote.
He also recalled their shared flight aboard Blue Origin’s rocket.
“Five years ago this month, I had the honor of flying with her on the first crewed New Shepard flight. At 82 years old, she was fearless, joyful, and wanted to fly again before we landed,” he added.
“Her dream lasted six decades, but it came true. Dreams don’t have expiration dates. Fly on, Wally,” Bezos concluded.
Throughout her decades-long career, Funk accumulated thousands of flight hours and trained thousands of pilots, leaving behind an important legacy in aviation and space exploration.
