Wally Funk, a trailblazing aviator and member of the legendary Mercury 13 who finally reached space at the age of 82 aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard, passed away on July 8, 2026, at her home in Grapevine, Texas. She was 87.
A Pioneering Aviator
Funk’s journey in aviation began in 1957 when she became a professional pilot at just 18 years old. Over the course of her remarkable career, she logged more than 19,600 flying hours and taught thousands of people how to fly. Her expertise earned her historic firsts: she became the Federal Aviation Administration’s first female inspector and the first woman to serve as an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Mercury 13 Legacy
In the early 1960s, Funk was selected to participate in the privately funded Woman in Space Program. Alongside 12 other exceptional women — later known as the Mercury 13 — she underwent the same grueling physical and mental tests designed for NASA’s Mercury Seven astronauts. As the youngest member of the cohort, Funk distinguished herself by ranking third overall and becoming the only woman to pass every single test administered.
Despite their qualifications, NASA never accepted any of the Mercury 13 into the astronaut corps. Funk applied to NASA’s astronaut program multiple times after it opened to women in 1978, but each application was unsuccessful. It would take four more decades before she finally got her chance to journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
A Historic Spaceflight
That chance came on July 20, 2021, when Funk joined the first crewed flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, alongside founder Jeff Bezos and two other passengers. At 82 years old, she became the oldest person ever to travel to space, shattering the record previously held by John Glenn — a Mercury Seven astronaut who flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998 at the age of 77.
Funk’s record stood for only a few months before actor William Shatner claimed the title at age 90 later that same year. Ed Dwight, a former Air Force pilot and NASA candidate who is several weeks older than Shatner, broke the record again in 2024 aboard another Blue Origin flight.
Lasting Impact
Funk’s legacy extends far beyond her record-breaking spaceflight. In 1995, she was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame, cementing her status as a foundational figure in both aviation and space exploration. Her career served as an enduring inspiration for generations of women pursuing careers in STEM, aviation, and aerospace.
Though she waited nearly 60 years for her chance to leave the atmosphere, Funk never wavered in her passion for flight or her belief that women deserved an equal place in space exploration. Her journey from being a rejected NASA applicant to becoming a space traveler at age 82 is one of the most remarkable second acts in the history of human spaceflight.
She is survived by a legacy that will continue to inspire future generations of explorers.