Blue Origin will fly female aviator Wally Funk, one of the Mercury 13, on 1st crewed launch
By Meghan Bartels about 9 hours ago
Wally Funk was one of 13 female aviators who lobbied for women to become astronauts in the early days of spaceflight.
Aviator Wally Funk wanted to be an astronaut in the earliest days of spaceflight. Sixty years later, on July 20, she'll finally go to space with Blue Origin.
Funk was one of 13 female aviators later dubbed the Mercury 13 who, in 1961, passed all the exams necessary for admission to NASA's astronaut corps and lobbied the federal government to send women into space. NASA and Congress demurred and women were excluded from becoming U.S. astronauts for more than a decade; Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space in 1983.
But, if all goes according to plan, in just three weeks, Funk will spend four minutes beyond the bounds of gravity. "I'll love every second of it," Funk said of her flight in a video released by Blue Origin. "I can hardly wait."
Aviator Wally Funk in a video released to announce her participation in Blue Origin's first crewed flight on July 20, 2021. (Image credit: Blue Origin)
Funk was already a highly qualified aviator in 1961, and she's never lost her love of flying. "I've been flying forever and I have 19,600 flying hours," Funk said in the video, also citing her experience teaching more than 3,000 people to fly. "Everything that the FAA [the Federal Aviation Administration] has, I've got the license for."
More:
https://www.space.com/blue-origin-launching-mercury-13-aviator-wally-funk-1st-crewed-flight?utm_source=notification
