Wally Funk, Aviation Pioneer and Oldest Woman in Space, Dies at 87

Wally Funk, who became the oldest woman to travel to space, died at age 87. The city of Grapevine, Texas, where she lived, announced the death on Thursday and said she died peacefully the evening before, surrounded by loved ones. Funk was born on February 1, 1939.

In 1961 she was selected for the Mercury 13 program and completed the same physical and psychological tests given to NASA's Mercury 7 astronauts, ranking among the top performers and outscoring many male counterparts on several tests. She later became the first female flight instructor at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

As an instructor she trained more than 3,000 pilots and logged more than 30,000 hours of flight time.

In July 2021, at age 82, Funk flew on Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-16 mission. She spent three minutes floating in space during the flight, which reached more than 2,500 miles per hour, and set a Guinness World Record as the oldest woman to travel to space. She remained the only Mercury 13 member to reach space.

The city of Grapevine noted additional honors, including induction into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame in 2024, the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame, and the Mercury 13 Hall of Fame. She is scheduled for posthumous induction into the International Space Hall of Fame.

Other awards include the Alumna Achievement Award from Stephens College, Oklahoma State University's Outstanding Female Pilot Trophy, and two consecutive Alfred Alder Memorial trophies.

She added that Funk's achievements continue to inspire young people, especially girls, to pursue careers in science, aviation, and space exploration.