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Wally Funk, aviator and astronaut, dies aged 87
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Wally Funk, aviator and astronaut, dies aged 87
Wally Funk, a pioneering aviator who became the oldest woman in space in 2021, has died aged 87.
- Wally Funk earned her pilot's license as a teenager and became the US military's first female flight instructor at age 20.
- In 1961, she was part of the Mercury 13 program, undergoing the same testing as the male Mercury astronauts.
- In 1971, she became the Federal Aviation Administration's first female flight inspector.
- In 2021, she flew on Blue Origin's New Shepard, becoming the oldest person to fly to space at age 82.
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