Wally Funk, Aviation Pioneer and Oldest Woman in Space, Dies at 87
Quick Look
- Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who became the oldest woman to travel to space at age 82 aboard Blue Origin's rocket in 2021, has died at 87.
- She passed away in Grapevine, Texas, due to complications from recent falls and a leg infection.
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Why It Matters
Wally Funk was an aviation pioneer who, in the early 1960s, underwent astronaut testing but was unable to go to space. In 2021, at age 82, she finally traveled to space on a Blue Origin rocket.
Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87.
Funk died Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City councilwoman Duff O'Dell said Thursday.
Ms O'Dell, who described herself as Funk's caregiver, said she was by Funk's side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.
“It took its toll,” Ms O'Dell said in a phone interview.
Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but never made it into space.
In 2021, she got her chance aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.
At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest person to go into space, though the record was later broken by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate. They were both 90.
Bezos chose Funk as an “honoured guest” to ride alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas aboard his Blue Origin rocket.
