Wally Funk | |
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![]() Wally Funk in 2012 | |
Born | Las Vegas, New Mexico, U.S. | February 1, 1939
Known for | First female FAA and NTSB inspector; one of the Mercury 13; oldest person in space. |
Space career | |
Mercury 13 and Blue Origin astronaut | |
Time in space | 7 minutes |
Missions | Blue Origin NS-16 |
Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk (born February 1, 1939) is an American aviator and Goodwill Ambassador. She was one of the Mercury 13, and was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, the first civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the first Federal Aviation Agency inspector.[1]
On July 19, 2021 Blue Origin successfully conducts its first human test flight, with Funk, Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen going to space.[2][3] She became the oldest person ever to go to space.[4][5]