Aviation Pioneer Wally Funk, Early Female Astronaut Trailblazer, Dies at 87
Aviation pioneer Wally Funk who trained – Wally Funk, a trailblazing aviator and early candidate for NASA’s Women in Space Program, has passed away at 87. She died at her home in Grapevine, Texas, on Wednesday evening, as confirmed by city spokesperson Mona Quintanilla.
Early Life and Career
Born Mary Wallace Funk on February 1, 1939, she pursued aviation with relentless passion. At 16, she enrolled at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and later earned her pilot’s license a year after graduating. Despite initial rejections from airlines following her Airline Transport Pilot certification, Funk forged her own path, becoming the first woman to hold a federal flight inspector role and the first female investigator for the National Transportation and Safety Board.
Mercury 13 Program and Challenges
As a member of NASA’s “Mercury 13” initiative in 1961, Funk and 12 other women underwent the same rigorous training as the male astronauts selected for the Mercury program. She emerged as the youngest graduate, surpassing male peers in speed and precision. One test saw her spend 10 hours and 35 minutes in a sensory deprivation tank, where she outperformed famed astronaut John Glenn. Yet, despite her accomplishments, NASA did not select any female astronauts until 1978.
Legacy and Recognition
“Wally Funk’s unwavering determination proves that dreams have no expiration date,” said Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell, a close friend. “Her courage, resilience, and groundbreaking achievements continue to inspire young people — especially girls — to pursue careers in science, aviation, and space exploration.”
Her career spanned thousands of hours in the air, with Funk teaching over 3,000 individuals how to pilot both private and commercial aircraft. She once quipped in a Blue Origin promotional video, “Everything the FAA has, I’ve got the license for. And I can outrun you.” This spirit of defiance ultimately led to her historic flight in 2021.
A Historic Space Journey
At 82, Funk’s lifelong dream of space travel was fulfilled when Jeff Bezos invited her as an “honored guest” on a New Shepard suborbital mission in July 2021. During the 11-minute flight, she experienced weightlessness and gazed at the cosmos, a moment she described as transformative. “I’ve been waiting a long time to finally get it up there,” she remarked during a post-flight press event. “I want to go again, fast. I loved every minute of it. I just wish it had been longer.”
Bezos added a personal touch, sharing that the goggles Amelia Earhart wore during her transatlantic flight were carried aboard the mission. “I like to think that if Amelia were here, she’d be very, very proud of Wally,” he said, underscoring Funk’s status as a modern aviation icon. Blue Origin honored her in a social media post, calling her “a pioneer in every sense of the word.”
“I got ahold of NASA four times, and said ‘I want to become an astronaut,’ but nobody would take me,” Funk recalled. “I didn’t think I would ever get to go up. Nothing has ever gotten in my way. They say, ‘Wally, you’re a girl, you can’t do that.’ I said, ‘Guess what, doesn’t matter what you are, you can still do it if you want to do it.’ And I like to do things that nobody’s ever done before.”
Funk’s journey exemplifies the perseverance of women in STEM fields, paving the way for future generations. Her story remains a testament to the power of ambition and the breaking of societal barriers in aviation and space exploration.
