Wally Funk, Mercury 13 Pilot and Oldest Woman to Fly to Space, Dies at 87
post-gazette · July 9, 2026
Key takeaways
- Wally Funk was a member of the Mercury 13, women who passed NASA astronaut testing in the 1960s but were barred from flying due to policy restrictions.
- She finally reached space in July 2021 at age 82 aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard, becoming the oldest person to fly to space at that time.
- Funk spent her life as a flight instructor and FAA safety inspector, mentoring pilots long before commercial spaceflight gave her a personal chance to fly.
Wally Funk, one of aviation's most stubborn and inspiring trailblazers, has died at 87. If her name doesn't ring an immediate bell, her story will — she spent six decades trying to get to space and finally made it happen on her own terms.
Who Was Wally Funk
Back in the early 1960s, Funk was one of the Mercury 13 — a group of women who passed the same grueling physical and psychological tests NASA gave its male astronaut candidates. She scored higher than John Glenn on some of them. But NASA required military jet test pilot experience for astronaut selection, a path closed to women at the time, and the program was scrapped before any of them flew. Funk never stopped chasing the dream. She became a flight instructor, an aviation safety investigator, and one of the first female air safety inspectors at the FAA, racking up thousands of flight hours and mentoring generations of pilots along the way.
The Moment She Finally Got Her Shot
In July 2021, at age 82, Funk finally left Earth's atmosphere — riding aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket alongside Jeff Bezos on the company's first crewed flight. She became the oldest person to travel to space at the time, a record that stood until it was later broken by fellow space traveler William Shatner just months afterward. Watching footage of Funk practically vibrating with joy before liftoff, grinning ear to ear, made her six-decade wait feel like it mattered to everyone watching, not just her.
Why Her Story Resonates
Funk's life is a reminder that being denied an opportunity once doesn't mean the door stays shut forever. She kept flying, kept teaching, kept logging hours long after most people would've given up on the dream entirely. When her moment finally came, she was ready for it — because she'd never actually stopped preparing.
What Happens Next
Tributes are already pouring in from the aviation and spaceflight communities, with many crediting Funk as proof that the Mercury 13 women deserved their shot decades before commercial spaceflight gave one of them the chance. Her legacy is expected to be honored through aviation scholarships and programs that carry her name, continuing the mentorship work she did throughout her life.
Why it matters
Funk's story is a touchstone for anyone interested in space history, gender barriers in aviation, and the rise of commercial spaceflight opening doors NASA once kept closed. Her death marks the loss of one of the last living links to the Mercury 13 era.
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