Wally Funk, the aviation pioneer who set an age record for space travel, has died at 87. Her death was reported by multiple outlets including The New York Times and CNN.
Funk trained as an early female astronaut in the 1960s as part of the privately funded Mercury 13 program, but was denied a chance to fly due to her gender. She waited six decades before finally reaching space in 2021 aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard flight alongside Jeff Bezos, becoming the oldest woman ever to travel to space.
The Mercury 13 group included women who passed the same physiological tests as the Mercury 7 male astronauts. Funk's journey was marked by persistence in the face of institutional barriers.
Funk was a native of Grapevine, Texas, and from an early age pursued flying, earning her pilot's license at 17. She later became one of the first female air safety investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board and logged more than 19,000 flight hours. Her spaceflight at 82 broke the record previously held by John Glenn, who flew at 77.
Her legacy highlights the ongoing conversation about gender equity in aerospace. Funk often said she "never gave up" on her dream of space travel, inspiring generations of women in STEM fields.