On December 9, 1974, she joined the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, D.C. as Air Safety Investigator; Wally Funk was their first female Investigator. During a media interaction, Wally reacted to Jeff Bezos invitation. In 1973, when Wally was promoted as a specialist to FAA SWAP (Systems Worthiness Analysis Program), she became the first woman in the United States to hold this position. [9] In 1986, she was the key speaker for the US at The World Aviation Education and Safety Congress. Although all 13 participants of Mercury 13 proved that they could endure extreme physical conditions, the program was shelved on the pretext that sending women into space was against the natural order, after its private funding was pulled and several prominent NASA figures lobbied against sending women astronauts into space. Wally Funk is one of the Mercury 13, a group of women who trained to be astronauts in the early 1960s. 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. Wally was present at the launch of Eileen Collins first Space Shuttle as a pilot and commander in 1995. Funk once stated that she has never married and is married to airplanes. She stated in the interview that she had no resentment about being barred from spaceflight. Wally Funk pictured at a ceremony in Las Cruces, New Mexico for the first landing of the Virgin Galactic VSS Enterprise, October 22, 2010. Ms. Funks trip to space with Jeff Bezos is reason to celebrate. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! In 1968, Wally Funk earned Airline Transport Rating, becoming the 58th woman in the United States to do so. She did her schooling in Taos, a town in New Mexico. In an interview, Wally reminisced the moment. She applied to three commercial airlines but was turned down because of her gender, as were other qualified female pilots. The family had a collection of artwork from artists at the Taos art colony, as the artists would trade artwork to pay off their debt at the store. https://t.co/4AnSX56hHW, The New York Times (@nytimes) July 19, 2021. Lovelace wanted to bring those 13 in for still more tests, this time at government facilities, but couldn't get approval. It was probably all of 15 minutes., 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 Funks collection of space and aviation memorabilia. But NASA rejected Wally again. Wally Funk as a child in Taos, New Mexico, My mother passed the flying gene down to me. [4], Funk was also an accomplished outdoorswoman, spending time riding her bike or her horse, skiing, hunting, and fishing. [10] Frustrated, Funk left high school early at the age of 16 and entered Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. While Wally Funk was undergoing her flying training at Oklahoma State University (OSU), she received the Outstanding Female Pilot trophy, the Flying Aggie Top Pilot and the Alfred Alder Memorial Trophy two years in succession. Wally spent years picturing herself as an astronaut even imagining takeoff. In February 1995, Wally Funk was featured as ten of the original thirteen female astronaut candidates on NBCs Dateline., Several magazines and tabloids including Life, Town and Country, and Ms Magazine have featured Wally Funk. Wally Funk is an American aviator and commercial pilot who became the oldest person to fly into space after accompanying Amazon founder. As we move forward into the world where commercial spaceflight offers opportunities to go based, not on skills, but on the amount of money in ones wallet, we will have to continue to ask the question: Who is space is really for? Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. She passed her tests and was qualified to go into space. [14][17], In 1995, Lt. Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a Space Shuttle into space; Funk was too old to qualify to become a Space Shuttle pilot by the time Collins became one. 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. [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. There are many books and movies that acknowledge Wally Funk's place in the history of the space program, such as Martha Ackmann's . Funk was in the tank, without hallucinating, for 10 hours and 35 minutes, a record. The researchers also shot ice water into Wallys ears to induce vertigo. Wally Funk has been a trailblazer for women in aviation and spaceflight since 1960. The Blue Origin crew meeting up at the companys rocket barn in Texas: Wally Funk: Honey, I couldnt be better Im gonna be in that window! [4] At nine, she had her first flying lesson. When she began flying at the age of 16, she knew it would be a lifelong passion. Soon, Wally Funk was inducted into the Woman in Space Program for which she traveled to Albuquerque, where she underwent five and a half days of rigorous tasks and intrusive examinations during which she had to ingest radioactive material and pour icy water into her ears; these tests were almost similar to the tests taken by male astronauts of Mercury 7, NASAs first successful human space mission. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS By. The tests included everything from a tilt table and a stint in a sensory deprivation chamber to examining the women's stomach acids. Wally says, I did everything that people didnt expect a girl to do. She had been fascinated by planes since she was a child, and got her pilot's license as a teenager. She was the keynote speaker for the United States at the World Aviation Education and Safety Congress in 1986. Wally talked about this in an interview. Her father owned a five-and-ten store in Taos, New Mexico, while her mother was an art enthusiast. In the book Promised the Moon by Stephanie Nolen, Ms. Funk said that during her first flight up, in a Cessna 172, The bug bit and that was it.. Mary Wallace Wally Funk [1]Los Angeles Times jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_5273_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_5273_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], }); was born on Wednesday, February 1, 1939 (age 82 years; as of 2021), in Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States. 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. On October 4, 1975, Wally Funk emerged as the winner of the Pacific Air Race from San Diego, California to Santa Rosa, California; she won the race against 80 participating competitors while flying her red and white Citabria. 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. An article profiled Jerrie Cobb, a female pilot undergoing NASAs astronaut tests. Ms. Funk, who goes by Wally, was one of 13 American women who went through a rigorous astronaut-training program in the 1960s to determine whether women were fit for space.Despite testing just as . Wally says. Seven members of the Mercury 13 watching a 1995 shuttle launch. On July 1, 2021, Jeff Bezos announced through an Instagram post that Wally Funk would be part of a four-person crew set to be launched into space by Blue Origin on July 20, 2021. The New Shepards flight will be the first of its kind when it reaches an altitude of 100 kilometers. While growing up in Taos, New Mexico, where her parents ran a chain of shops, her mother noticed that she was not like a typical American girl, rather she was a tomboy who would ride horses and compete in marksmanship contests. In 1971, Wally Funk became the first woman to successfully complete the FAA General Aviation Operations Inspector Academy course, which included Pilot Certification and Flight Testing procedures, handling accidents and violations. Hes the one who gets Ms. Funk into space. [24] She enjoys sports and restoring antique automobiles, with a collection that includes a 1951 Hooper Silver Wraith. They sent me right into college and right into flying., Mrs. Funk, your daughters not doing too well in her subjects. Wally Funks childhood fantasy of traveling to space was triggered when she stumbled upon an article while reading Life magazine. According to Funk, since childhood, she was an adventure enthusiast who loved outdoor activities. Weitekamp also published a book on Mercury 13. The program was run by William Randolph Lovelace, although it lacked official government sponsorship. At the age of 82, Funk, whose full name is Mary Wallace Funk, was invited to join the crew of the New Shepards first manned space flight. When Wally turned nine, she had her first flying lesson, when a pilot helped her steer a plane, and while praising Wallys skills, he told her parents that shed done a great job. Do you have an airport? [5] Her record would stand until later that year when William Shatner's flight took place on October 13; Shatner was age 90 at the time. Wally Funk is a prolific aviator who has displayed various aerobatic maneuvers in several womens air races including Powder Puff Derbys 25th Annual Race, Pacific Air Race, Palms to Pines Air Race in which she stood 8th, 6th, and 8th respectively. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Never miss an eclipse, a meteor shower, a rocket launch or any other astronomical and space event that's out of this world. (Some of the tests focused on cardiovascular health, where the women had a key advantage, she noted, since most of the Mercury 7 smoked.). The pilot, flight instructor and almost . In the fall of 1961, Wally Funk started as a Certified Flight Instructor, Charter, and Chief Pilot at an aviation company in Hawthorne, California. Interesting facts about Franklin Chang-Diaz, Top 10 Things to do Around the Eiffel Tower, 10 Things to Do in Paris on Christmas Day (2022), 10 Things to Do in Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. She won the Outstanding Female Pilot award, the Flying Aggie Top Pilot award, and the Alfred Alder Memorial Trophy two years in a row. Oklahoma State Alumnus Aviation News Illustrated magazine has featured Wally Funk on their cover. In 2012, filmed her life story for the Traveling Space Museum. The Mercury 7 were chosen in 1959. On October 4, 1975, flying her red and white Citabria, Wally won the Pacific Air Race from San Diego, California, to Santa Rosa, California, against 80 participating competitors.[9]. Funk will be fulfilling a lifelong dream today by joining the Blue Origin flight crew. Wally Funk, 82, who was once barred from an astronaut career because she's a woman, became the oldest person ever to travel to space on Tuesday. By contrast, when the astronaut John Glenn was selected for the Mercury program, he also did not have an engineering degree. [21][22][5] Her record would be surpassed later that year by William Shatner, who flew aboard Blue Origin NS-18 at the age of 90. "I didn't think that I would ever get to go up. Seeing her finally get to go into space decades after proving that she was not only capable, but perhaps more capable than the men she was essentially up against during the Mercury program is so incredible, said Tanya Harrison, a planetary scientist and director of science strategy at Planet Labs. She was the first woman to work as a field examiner for the FAA for four years. Email us at [emailprotected]. I was given the gift of great confidence and born with the ability to fly.. Wally dropped everything and rushed to Albuquerque. He wanted to put women through the same tests to see if they would be good candidates for space. The space flight took place the morning of Tuesday, July 20, 2021. [5][19][20] During the successful flight Funk, at age 82, became the oldest person to fly to space, exceeding John Glenn's record at the age of 77 in 1998 (aboard STS-95). Wally Funk during her youthful flying days. But NASA never sent her to space. Funk told The Guardian she never married, saying she is married to airplanes. She said in the interview that she carried no resentment over being grounded from spaceflight. A few months after passing the first round, Wally traveled to Oklahoma City for round two. Wally FunkWally Funk next to a glide plane, c. 1960. The money for the flight came from Funk's own book and film royalties and family money. Wally Funk was the only female one at a US military base when, aged 21, she joined Fort Sill, Oklahoma as a Civilian Flight Instructor. [15][13] Funk was then appointed an FAA Safety Counselor and became a renowned pilot trainer and speaker on aviation safety. I go right to the wheel and I try to turn the nut, Wally said. On July 20, 2021, Blue Origins New Shepard rocket successfully landed back in West Texas deserts after making a successful journey into space, carrying Wally Funk and three fellow passengers Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, and an 18-year-old physics student Oliver Daemen. [12], After the Mercury 13 program was canceled, Funk became a Goodwill Ambassador. How do we know how far away and early in the universe galaxies are? [10] She graduated in 1958 with her pilot's license and an Associate of Arts degree. [9][14] She applied to three commercial airlines but, like other qualified female pilots, was turned away because of her sex. When Wally was 14, the National Rifle Association sent her incredible shooting results to President Dwight Eisenhower, who later wrote back to Wally, appreciating her work. 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. She said. Picture Courtesy of Tech. Wally didnt complain she wanted to go to space. In an interview, she reminisced about her first experience with airplanes. I just believed it would come, she said. Her enthusiasm and attitude are positively infectious, Dr. Harrison added, and so I hope her flight into space gives her a renewed platform to inspire a whole new generation of girls to pursue space or aviation.. "Her aim was to not only to just do it to the best of her ability, every test, but to try to do better than whoever had gone before her," Sue Nelson, a science journalist who later traveled with Funk to research her book, "Wally Funks Race for Space" (Chicago Review Press, 2019), told Space.com. Surviving members of the group of women informally dubbed the Mercury 13 attended the 1995 shuttle launch of Eileen Collins as she became the first female shuttle pilot. Despite this, the program was canceled before the women were to undergo their last test. This is Carol Butler, and I'm doing an oral history for the NASA History Office, with Wally Funk, retired NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] investigator, senior flight instructor, chief pilot, wonderful woman of aerospace. Funk was named Chief Pilot at Emery Aviation College in Greeley, Colorado, in 1987, where she oversaw the entire flight program for 100 students ranging from Private to Multi-engine Flight Instructor and Helicopter ratings. Wally Funk in an undated photo provided by Blue Origin. 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. [9], Funk moved on to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education at Oklahoma State University. In the 1960s, Wally Funk was alsolisted in Whos Who in Young Women in America and Whos Who in Aviation.. 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. Wally Funk, who was five at the time, jumped from her fathers barn in Taos, New Mexico, while wearing a Superman cape. Wally Funks father owned a five-and-ten store in Taos, New Mexico, while her mother was an art enthusiast. I can go out there and do anything.. In 1970, after receiving the Commercial Glider Rating, she joined Redondo High School in California, where she taught five Aeronautical Science classes. Funk earned numerous aviation certificates and ratings while at OSU, including her Commercial, Single-engine Land, Multi-engine Land, Single-engine Sea, Instrument, Flight Instructor, and all Ground Instructor ratings. Space is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Go for all of us, the article said. I was given the gift of great confidence and born with the ability to fly., I go right to the wheel and I try to turn the nut, and mother said: Shes going to fly., The air and how pretty it was, and how the ground looked. When she started flying at 16, she knew it would be a lifelong passion. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty ImagesWally Funk pictured at a ceremony in Las Cruces, New Mexico for the first landing of the Virgin Galactic VSS Enterprise, October 22, 2010. She said. Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic crossed the 80 kilometer threshold, but has not been able to cross 100 kilometers, according to CNBC. Wally Funk never gave up on her dream of going to space. Wally Funk, right, describes their flight experience as Mark Bezos, left, and Jeff Bezos, left, center, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, applaud from the spaceport near Van . When NASA finally began accepting women in the late 1970s, Funk applied three times. In 1995, when Eileen Collins became the first female pilot in space, Funk was at the launch pad crying out, Go Eileen. [16], Like the other participants in the program, Funk was put through rigorous physical and mental testing. Later, she traveled to Nevada, Arizona, and California, where she inspected flight schools and air taxi operations. In 1960,. The National Rifle Association forwarded her incredible shooting results to President Dwight Eisenhower, who responded in writing. None of those women have gone into space. And from Nelson's description of calling to congratulate her friend on the invitation, Funk is conscious of the weight of history that she'll carry into the capsule. Her interview on the Mike Douglas Television Show took place the same year. (The vehicle itself, of course, is dubbed for one of the group she so notably did not become, Alan Shepard, who became the first American in space with a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961.). Wally wanted to prove that women could become astronauts in an era before NASA accepted female trainees. Wally Funk is a trailblazing American aviator who has many firsts to her name including the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, and the first female Federal Aviation Agency inspector. Ms. Funk flew at every opportunity, including sneaking out of a formal dance to go night flying. When she was one year old, her parents took her to an airport near where they lived in New Mexico and she got up close to a Douglas DC-3, an early airliner. NASA did not admit women to its astronaut training program until 1978. She adds that When Wally flies, we all fly with her.. She was told she would never walk again. So instead, Wally devoted herself to her career in aviation. In an interview, she revealed that when she entered Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, she hadnt even completed high school. That she was ultimately excluded from the first phase because she is a woman, and will now be included in the next one, also highlights difficult questions of whom space is for. [6] She is also the only one of the thirteen to have traveled to space. She said, When I was sent to Stephens College aviation program, I hadnt even graduated from High School yet. In 1961, three years before Jeff Bezos was born, Ms. Funk and 12 other women went through testing as part of the Woman in Space Program. Independently of his NASA work, then, Lovelace was interested in how women's bodies fared during these tests, which spanned a week. Wally Funk took her first flying lesson at age nine. But for many women and nonbinary people involved in space and astronomy, the moment is more nuanced than just a lifelong dream realized. Wally was the first female flight instructor at a military base in the United States. The tests had been designed by Dr. Lovelace for the Mercury astronauts. How to watch Blue Origin launch Jeff Bezos into space on July 20, Blue Origin's first astronaut launch updates, As space billionaires take flight, 'the right stuff' for space travel enters a new era, Blue Origin's launch with Jeff Bezos: Everything you need to know, Meet the crew launching on Blue Origin's 1st astronaut flight on July 20, Grab the Celestron Travel Scope 70 for under $100, How to watch SpaceX's 1st Starship space launch live online for free today (April 17), Watch the moon and Saturn have a close encounter in the sky tonight, The Lyrid meteor shower begins April 16 to light up the spring night sky, What's next for Europe's JUICE mission? [5]The Guardian jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_5273_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_5273_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], }); Wally says, As a Flying Aggie, I could do all the manoeuvres as well as the boys, if not better., Wally Funk pushing an aircraft as a Flying Aggie at OSU. Heres how it works. Cady Coleman, a NASA astronaut who served aboard the space shuttle and the space station, sees in the invitation a message to Ms. Funk and many more unsung women in space and aviation. Katie Mack, an astrophysicist and assistant professor of astronomy at North Carolina State University, also spoke to the thrill of Ms. Funk going to space but also about who gets to make the decisions. For 40 years she has taught flying, both private and commercial, (she has 16,500 hours in the air and has soloed 800 student pilots), in addition, she became the first female investigator of the National Transportation Safety Board, The Guardian reported. Some of those women see Ms. Funk as a personal hero who broke down gender barriers, and they hope she will again become an example to women and girls. After the successful flight, Funk emerged from the New Shepard capsule with her arms spread out wide and a smile on her face. A rare hybrid solar eclipse occurs on April 20. She purchased a ticket on Virgin Galactic in 2010 for $200,000, hoping that it would finally get her into space. They became known as the Mercury 13. "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. In an interview she talked about her marital status. She said. 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