In 1961, Wally Funk became the youngest member of the Mercury 13 program, a privately funded project meant to see how women held up to the pressures of spaceflight, and a program that never saw the light of day. In an interview, she revealed that it was her parents encouragement that made her a confident girl. They sent me right into college and right into flying.. They sent me right into college and right into flying., Mrs. Funk, your daughters not doing too well in her subjects. In her senior year of college, when she earned a trophy recognizing her as the most outstanding pilot, the airport manager gave it to her said, Mark my words, if ever a woman flies into space, it will be Wally, or one of her students.. The 22-year old had to show that she could withstand the remoteness of space. After the successful flight, Funk emerged from the New Shepard capsule with her arms spread out wide and a smile on her face. Discover Walks contributors speak from all corners of the world - from Prague to Bangkok, Barcelona to Nairobi. At the same time, she represented the southwestern United States as the Top Female Skier in Slalom and Downhill races in US competition. There was nothing I couldnt do., Wally Funk waving in front of an aircraft while riding a bicycle, I was not an A student. After a wait of over six decades, Wally Funk finally got an opportunity to become an astronaut when Jeff Bezos invited her to join him on his voyage to space, aboard his own rocket, built by his company Blue Origin, on July 20, 2021, making her the oldest person to fly to space. Wally Funk: Born in New Mexico in 1939, Funk has been flying professionally since 1957. Wally retired as an Air Safety Investigator after 11 years of service in 1985 and was later appointed as an FAA Safety Counselor and went on to become a well-known pilot trainer and aviation safety speaker. These individual stories and victories are important, but they are not justice, Dr. Walkowicz added. In the same year, Wally was interviewed on the Mike Douglas Television Show. In the fall of 1975, Wally Funks interview was aired on Salute of Women In Aviation, a Gene Burkes television program. While working at the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, DC., Wally Funk attended two schools for field investigators to learn the many elements contributing to airplane accidents and how to investigate them. To convince NASA, Wally knew she would need to outlast the Mercury astronauts. Wally Funk showing her biography Wally Funks Race for Space by Sue Nelson. But nobody would take me," Funk said in the video released to announce her flight. She had fallen asleep. None of the men lasted longer than three hours. In an interview, Wally revealed that she barged into the local airfield office and asked, 21 years old Wally Funk as the first female flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1960. In 1983, Wally watched as Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. [10] Wally Funk has spent her life among the clouds. At 18-years-old and 82-years-young, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk represent the youngest and oldest astronauts to travel to space.. Jeff Bezos; his brother; a $28 million auction winner; and Wally Funk, an 82-year-year old aviator will go aboard first flight of New Shepard. I was brought up that when things dont work out, you go to your alternative, she said. In all, she has logged over 19,600 flying hours and taught more than 3,000 people to fly. Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Fighting for access to space. Reportedly, the program was scrapped because its private funding was pulled. Meghan earned an MA in science journalism from New York University and a BA in classics from Georgetown University, and in her free time she enjoys reading and visiting museums. ', READ NEXT: Oliver Daeman: Meet the 18-Year-Old Who Is Going to Space, Wally Funk: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Awards and honors [ edit] In 1964, Funk became the youngest woman in the history of Stephens College to receive the Alumna Achievement Award, honored in recognition for her work in aviation. The tests had been designed by Dr. Lovelace for the Mercury astronauts. Happy travels! Denied 60 years ago, Wally Funk is finally going to space Jeff Bezos selected her to take part in first New Shepard crewed flight In this 2019 photo made available by NASA, Mercury 13 astronaut. [4] At the same time she represented the southwestern United States as Top Female Skier, Slalom and Downhill races in United States competition. When she emerged, the researchers asked, Do you still want to go to space? Wally said yes. Later this month, the 82-year-old pilot and flight instructor will finally head there. You get her out there and start her flying., I was the last Flying Susie to receive my license., I was required to do 100 miles of flying so I would fly around the countryside and even pick up my parents., Wally Funk in 1960, flying an helicopter as a college fresh out, As a Flying Aggie, I could do all the maneuvers as well as the boys, if not better., Wally Funk and two other members of the Flying Aggies with their silverware in 1959, Seven of the pioneering Mercury 13, including Wally Funk (second left), 21 years old Wally Funk as the first female flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1960, Wally Funk featured in the June 28, 1963, Life Magazine story on Mercury 13 women, Mercury 13, a documentary on space program featuring Wally Funk, premiered on Netflix in 2018, I cant tell people that are watching how fabulous I feel to be picked by Blue Origin to go on this trip., Wally Funk (2nd from right) posing in front of Blue Origin shuttle, Follow us on our social media channels to stay connected. At Stephens College, she was required to fly 100 miles as part of her flying training. Funk, age 82, is one of a dozen women who have come to be known as the Mercury 13 in pointed contrast to NASA's original astronauts, the Mercury 7. [10] Frustrated, Funk left high school early at the age of 16 and entered Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. She said. Inside The Enduring Mystery Of The Iconic Queen's Real Face, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Aviator Wally Funk in a video released to announce her participation in Blue Origin's first crewed flight on July 20, 2021. She said, When I was sent to Stephens College aviation program, I hadnt even graduated from High School yet. Being a girl, Wally was only permitted to take courses such as home economics in high school; however, she wanted to take courses such as mechanical drawing and auto mechanics. Wally Funk and the Mercury 13 fought for a role in the space race. The duration of the flight was 10 minutes (from its launch to capsule touchdown in the desert), and it reached a height of 107 km above the earth, while Richard Bransons trip to space and back lasted about 90 minutes from take-off to landing, which reached a height of 86 km. In an interview, while talking about this, she said that once her adviser called up her mother and said. Meet Wally Funk, The Trailblazing Female Pilot Who Fought For Over 60 Years To Go To Space. After passing these tests, 22-year-old Wally Funk joined Cobb and 11 other successful participants in the Mercury 13 program, a privately funded program that aimed to train women astronauts and send them into space. [3] Funk and six other members of the Mercury 13 were invited guests of Collins at the launch, and NASA gave them a behind-the-scenes VIP tour of the Kennedy Space Center complex. She passed her tests and was qualified to go into space. In an interview she talked about her marital status. Funk has been chief pilot for five aviation schools across the country. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, although it wasn't until 1995 that NASA made Eileen Collins the first female pilot of the space shuttle. Funk will also be the oldest person in space, according to Blue Origins press statement. [4] At OSU, Funk earned a large number of aviation certificates and ratings, including her Commercial, Single-engine Land, Multi-engine Land, Single-engine Sea, Instrument, Flight Instructor's, and all Ground Instructor's ratings. She will join the youngest person in space, Oliver Daemon, 18. When the five-year-old Wally leaped off her fathers barn in Taos, New Mexico, wearing a Superman cape, it became a pivotal moment in her life that inspired her to pursue a career as a pilot. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. [9], In 1974, Funk was hired by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as its first female Air Safety Investigator. Funk during her youthful flying days. But the launch this week, decades after she was denied the opportunity, also raises questions about whom space is for. (Some of the tests focused on cardiovascular health, where the women had a key advantage, she noted, since most of the Mercury 7 smoked.). Among the 13 FLATs, only Ms. Funk and Gene Nora Jessen are still alive. [8] Funk became a member of the "Flying Susies" and rated first in her class of 24 fliers. At Oklahoma State University (OSU), Wally Funk became an officer of the famous Flying Aggies, and she also flew for them in the International Collegiate Air Meets. NASA did not admit women to its astronaut training program until 1978. An article profiled Jerrie Cobb, a female pilot undergoing NASAs astronaut tests. Her father owned a five-and-ten store in Taos, New Mexico, while her mother was an art enthusiast. When you hear about these women today, they are often called the Mercury 13, but they called themselves the FLATs: First Lady Astronaut Trainees. I just believed it would come, she said. Here's what to expect on its long journey to Jupiter, SpaceX's 1st Starship and Super Heavy launch: How it will work, Europe preps dark matter-hunting Euclid spacecraft for trip to Florida launch site (photos), SpaceX Dragon cargo ship departs space station and returns to Earth, SpaceX will try to launch 1st Starship orbital flight on April 17, No asteroid impacts needed: Newborn Earth made its own water, study suggests. In 1961, Wally Funk underwent multiple tests of her physical fitness to prove that women could be astronauts. Wally Funk has spent her life in pursuit of a dream. Heres how it works. Hes the one who gets Ms. Funk into space. "It was never a NASA project, it was really a privately funded investigation into women's physical capabilities for spaceflight," Weitekamp said. A success story 50+ years in the making. Wally has set aside a corner of her home in Grapevine for her collection of space and aviation memorabilia that she has collected over the years. Funk told The Guardian in 2002 she learned to fly at 16 after developing an early fascination in flight. She said, I cant tell people that are watching how fabulous I feel to be picked by Blue Origin to go on this trip.. She stood second in the Palms to Pines All Women Air Race that took place from Santa Monica, California to Independence, Oregon on August 16, 1975. How do we know how far away and early in the universe galaxies are? Wally Funk. According to Funk, while she was studying at Stephens College, her scores were not brilliant, and she was rather interested in flying. At an early age, Wally Funk was fascinated by flying, and the interest developed at such an early age that according to Funk, she cant remember a time when she wasnt fascinated by flying. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced on Thursday that an honored guest, Wally Funk, will join the inaugural crewed flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard space capsule on July 20.. Funk was a member . Lovelace had designed NASAs astronaut tests and decided, on his own, to see whether women might make better astronauts than men. The young Funk was only a year old when she got her first glimpse of an airplane; her parents had taken her to an airport near their home in New Mexico, where she saw a Douglas DC-3, an early airliner. ", Related: From Yuri Gagarin's launch to today, human spaceflight has always been political, Blue Origin has long showed an interest in nodding to spaceflight's history, so it's not a coincidence that Funk will step inside the New Shepard capsule on its first crewed flight. Courtesy of Wally Funk. Wally Funk was chosen by. Earlier forms of this gatekeeping prevented so many women from accomplished careers in spaceflight and space science. Email us at [emailprotected]. Thats where she entered the isolation tank. Finally, the researchers pulled Wally from the tank as the pilot promised she could go longer. Today, Blue Origin announced Oliver Daemen will be the first paying customer to fly on board New Shepard, marking the beginning of commercial operations for the program, the July 15 statement said. In an interview, Wally talked about this. [9], At 20 years old, Funk became a professional aviator. It is hard not to look at the billionaire space-race and wonder if Mr. Bezos invited her as a way to one-up Richard Branson. Wally Funk spent most of her childhood in Taos, New Mexico, where her parents owned a chain of shops. In 2017, her name was inscribed on the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museums Wall of Honor in recognition of your contribution to our aviation and exploration heritage.. But the launch this week, decades after she was denied the . Tomorrow this legendary pilot realizes her dreams and flies in space. In an interview, Funk recalled picking up her parents while flying through the countryside. A few months after passing the first round, Wally traveled to Oklahoma City for round two. What time is SpaceX's 1st Starship and Super Heavy launch on April 17? Powered by. Nasa flight surgeon Dr Shannan Moynihan was particularly thrilled to meet an original . Wally Funk is unmarried (as of July 2021). "I go right to the wheel and I try to turn the nut," she says. Related: As space billionaires take flight, 'the right stuff' for space travel enters a new era. . Funk retired from her post as an Air Safety Investigator in 1985 after serving for 11 years. Wally was interviewed on Gene Burkes television program Salute of Women in Aviation in the fall of 1975. And while some, like Funk, applied directly to NASA, it didn't make a difference. Furthermore, the trainer became a Certified Flight Instructor and Chief Pilot in the aviation company at Hawthrone, California, in late 1961. When Blue Origins New Shepard rocket launched from remote West Texas on July 20, 2021, 82-year-old Wally Funk became the oldest passenger to travel into space. In the 1960s, Wally Funk was alsolisted in Whos Who in Young Women in America and Whos Who in Aviation.. She had her first flight lesson at age nine, became a licensed pilot at 17 and has logged more than 19,000 flying hours. Despite her impressive credentials, she was turned down for not having an engineering degree or a background as a test pilot. But on Tuesday, she. Wally Funk during her youthful flying days. Funk, whose full name is Mary Wallace Funk, was invited to be a crew member on the New Shepards first manned space flight at age 82. This time, it wasnt Wallys gender that held her back. [9] In 1986, she was the key speaker for the US at The World Aviation Education and Safety Congress. I did everything that people didnt expect a girl to do, Wally said. I saw there was an old-boys network, but my philosophy has always been to get over it, and move on., Nearly 60 years after passing her astronaut test, 82-year-old Wally Funk is finally going to space pic.twitter.com/ghXDieXwYh. Funk, already an accomplished pilot in her early 20s, learned about the project in 1960 when she read about Jerrie Cobb, a female pilot who volunteered to undergo tests meant to determine whether a human body could withstand the strain of spaceflight. She joined Space.com in July 2018, with previous writing published in outlets including Newsweek and Audubon. Wally also continued to work as a flight instructor, training hundreds of people to operate planes. Live updates: Blue Origin's first astronaut launch updates. "It's so much more akin in my eyes as a sort of old-fashioned astronaut experience, more similar to the one that if NASA had allowed women into the astronaut corps 20 years earlier," Nelson said. But among women and nonbinary people working in the study of space, the account of Ms. Funk and her cohort struggling to become astronauts and being blocked because of their gender has resonated. Wally Funk has been hoping for a long time to go to space. There was nothing I couldnt do., Wally Funks childhood photo while she was growing up in Taos, New Mexico. You get her out there and start her flying.. Wally was the first female flight instructor at a military base in the United States. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. In addition to flying airplanes, Wally is interested in parachute jumping, ballooning, and hang-gliding. Wally Funks contributions to the aviation and space sectors have been acknowledged in several books and films such as Martha Ackmanns 2003 history The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight and the Netflix documentary Mercury 13. In 1973, Wally Funk became the first woman in the United States to be promoted as a specialist to FAA SWAP (Systems Worthiness Analysis Program). I was given the gift of great confidence and born with the ability to fly.. [2]Ninety-Nines jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_5273_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_5273_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], }); When Wally joined Stephens College, she hadnt even graduated from High School. We may all come from different walks of life but we have one common passion - learning through travel. The Real Wally Funk. In March 2019, Sue Nelson, one of the close friends of Wally Funk, published a biography entitled Wally Funks Race for Space, which was published by the Chicago Review Press. She had been fascinated by planes since she was a child, and got her pilot's license as a teenager. At the age of 82, Funk, who has spent six decades trying to reach space, will soon join Amazon founder Jeff Bezos onboard the Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, in the world's first unpiloted civilian space flight. She adds that When Wally flies, we all fly with her.. Funk says it was a pivotal moment that inspired her to become a pilot. Just as women were the secretaries and telephone operators on Earth, so too they would be in space, this line of thinking went, according to Weitekamp. Meghan is a senior writer at Space.com and has more than five years' experience as a science journalist based in New York City. When the New Shepard reaches an altitude of 100 kilometers, it is the first of its kind. In the 2010s, she bought a ticket on Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo. In an interview, Wally reminisced the moment. While growing up in Taos, her mother noticed that Funk was not like any other girl who would bake something out of a Betty Crocker cookbook, rather she was a tomboy who would ride horses and compete in marksmanship contests. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). NY 10036. In the fall of 1961, Wally Funk started as a Certified Flight Instructor, Charter, and Chief Pilot at an aviation company in Hawthorne, California. She won the Outstanding Female Pilot award, the Flying Aggie Top Pilot award, and the Alfred Alder Memorial Trophy two years in a row. Funk will be fulfilling a lifelong dream today by joining the Blue Origin flight crew. But where the agency was focused on reaching milestones in space exploration, Lovelace had a bigger picture in mind, an ideal pulled from science fiction of whole offices lofted from 1950s America into orbit. She spent most of her childhood skiing, riding her bike or her horse, hunting, and fishing in Taos, New Mexico. In 1969, Wally Funk was featured in eight South African and European magazines. But Funk laid the groundwork for this flight during a brief period six decades ago, when she became one of the group that was, decades later, dubbed the Mercury 13 and is often misleadingly portrayed as a sort of women's counterpart for NASA's first group of astronauts, although the agency never endorsed their efforts and only began recruiting women for spaceflight in 1978. When on Tuesday she crosses that arbitrary altitude that divides the heavens from Earth below, in a rocket built by Jeff Bezos company Blue Origin, shell be 82, the oldest person ever to go into space. On October 4, 1975, while flying her red and white Citabriashe, Wally became the winner among 80 participants in the Pacific Air Race from San Diego, California to Santa Rosa, California. Would need to outlast the Mercury astronauts she said that once her adviser wally funk facts up mother. 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