Aviation Pioneer And Space-Travel Record Breaker Wally Funk Dies At 87

Funk became the oldest person to fly in space in 2021.

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Wally Funk, an accomplished pilot who became the oldest person to fly to space in 2021, has died at the age of 87. Funk died on July 8 at her home in Grapevine, Texas, The New York Times reported.

In the early 1960s, Funk participated in the Woman in Space Program, through which she and 12 other women (later known as the Mercury 13) underwent the same physical and mental tests as the Mercury Seven. As the youngest member of the cohort, Funk was rated third among the candidates and was the only one to pass all the tests. While all of the Mercury Seven — who included John Glenn and Alan Shepard — traveled to space, NASA didn't accept any of the Mercury 13 as astronauts. Funk applied to join NASA's astronaut program multiple...

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