Aviation Pioneer Wally Funk Dies at 87
Wally Funk died on Wednesday evening in Grapevine, Texas. She was 87.
Funk was an aviation pioneer who became the oldest woman to travel into space. She died peacefully at an assisted living facility.
She had suffered falls and a leg infection before her death. In 2021 Funk flew on a Blue Origin rocket into space.
This made her the oldest woman ever to reach space. She had waited decades for that moment.
NASA had declined to let her become an astronaut in the 1960s. Funk was part of a group called the Mercury 13.
These were 13 female pilots who passed the same astronaut tests as NASA's all-male group. None of the 13 were accepted into NASA's astronaut program. Funk was the only one of the 13 who ever reached space.
Klear Note — The Mercury 13 were female pilots who passed NASA astronaut tests in the 1960s. NASA rejected all of them, only accepting men as astronauts at that time.
Key Terms 3
- Mercury 13 13 women who passed NASA astronaut tests in the 1960s but were rejected
- Blue Origin A private space travel company that flies people into space
- aviation pioneer Someone who was among the first to do important things in flying