Wally Funk, aviation pioneer who finally reached space at 82, dies at 87

Wally Funk, the aviation pioneer who became the oldest woman to reach space, has died at 87. She died on Wednesday at an assisted living apartment in Grapevine, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth suburb, according to Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell, who said she was at Funk’s side. O’Dell cited recent falls and an infection in Funk’s leg. Funk was among 13 female pilots who completed the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but were not sent to space by the agency. In 2021, she finally flew aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket at age 82, becoming the oldest person in space at the time. Her milestone was later surpassed by William Shatner and Ed Dwight, both 90.