Wally Funk waited 60 years to get to space, and no one ever earned it more. She trained with the Mercury 13 in 1961, out-tested the men, and was told no anyway. She never stopped flying — 19,600 hours, thousands of students, a lifetime of firsts.
Five years ago this month, I had the honor of flying with her on New Shepard's first crewed flight. At 82, she was fearless, joyful, and asking to go again before we’d even landed.
Her dream took six decades, but it came true. Dreams have no expiration date. Godspeed, Wally.
Aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who was the oldest woman to travel into space, has died at age 87. @rachelvscott looks back at her more than 60-year journey to launch into space after being told she couldn't go because she was a girl.