Wally Funk, aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to travel into space, dies at 87

Wally Funk, right, describes her flight experience as Mark Bezos, left, and Jeff Bezos, left, centre, applaud in the spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

GRAPEVINE, Texas — 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. 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,” 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.

“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would reach space. Her passion for flight, perseverance, and love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted Thursday on X.

The Associated Press