Wally Funk, Oldest Human in Space With Blue Origin, Still Has Her Virgin Galactic Ticket
Wally Funk, 82, became the oldest human to travel to the edge of space on the Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. The voyage was long overdue for the pilot, who was once overlooked for a chance to take off in 1961. Funk lost out on the Mercury 13 mission, prevented from launching because of her gender. Sue Nelson, author of “Wally Funk’s Race for Space,” joined Cheddar to talk about the historic significance of today’s launch, especially for the many other women who were once denied the opportunity to go to the stars. She also discussed the possibility of Funk becoming the oldest human to go to space twice. Funk had originally purchased a ride on a future Virgin Galactic flight before Jeff Bezos offered her a spot on his rocket, and she still has the ticket.
