Aviation Pioneer Wally Funk Dies at 87
Wally Funk, the oldest woman to travel into space and a noted aviation pioneer, died at age 87 in Grapevine, Texas.
Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who traveled to space in 2021 on a Blue Origin flight and was the oldest woman to travel into space, died at age 87 in Grapevine, Texas.
According to the Guardian, she died peacefully on Wednesday evening at her apartment in an assisted‑living facility, and city councilwoman Duff O'Dell was by her side. The Guardian also reported that Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.
The Hindustan Times reported that Funk was a member of the Mercury 13. Bluesky reported that she completed the astronaut program in the early 1960s but was not allowed to go to space because she was a woman, and that she later became a flight instructor, training more than 3,000 pilots.
CNN.com reported that Funk was born Mary Wallace Funk on February 1, 1939, and that she received the 2022 Michael Collins Trophy for Lifetime Achievement on March 24, 2022.
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