--- title: "82-Year-Old Woman Becomes Oldest Person in Space" description: "Retired pilot instructor Wally Funk just made it to the edge of space on board Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft RSS First Step." date: "2021-07-20" modified: "2021-07-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/retired-pilot-legend-becomes-oldest-person-in-space" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "blue origin" - "new shepard" - "the digest" --- # 82-Year-Old Woman Becomes Oldest Person in Space ![Retired pilot instructor Wally Funk just made it to the edge of space on board Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft RSS First Step.]() *\Image: Blue Origin\* ## Funk Flight Spurned [astronaut ]()[Wally Funk]() just made it to the edge of space on board Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft RSS First Step. The small rocket launched from the West Texas desert, just after 9 am Eastern time. At 82-years-young, Funk has become the oldest person to travel to space — or at least past the Kármán line at 62 miles, the arbitrary boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space that was ratified internationally in the 1960s. It's a historic achievement, and a potential milestone toward a future in which traveling to space is possible for everybody, regardless of age. ## Serious Chops Funk has spent over 19,600 hours flying and has taught more than 3,000 people to fly, [according to *The New York Times*](). In 1961, Funk — alongside 12 other women — went through the Woman in Space Program, a NASA gauntlet of tests designed for the Mercury astronauts. Despite being younger than the age 24 cutoff, she was selected as a candidate for the program. She was put through several grueling rounds of tests including having ice water pumped into her ears, the *Times* reported. Not a single one of the 13 women were selected to go into space by the US government. In fact, the program was later shut down entirely. On today's flight, Funk was also accompanied by Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos, his brother, and an 18-year-old son of a private equity investment firm CEO, who won the auction by default after an unnamed millionaire [couldn't go due to "scheduling conflicts."]() In other words, at least one passenger deserved the trip. **READ MORE:** [Wally Funk Is Defying Gravity and 60 Years of Exclusion From Space]() \[*The New York Times*\] **More on Blue Origin:** *[Elon Musk Brutally Mocks Jeff Bezos for Spaceship That Can’t Reach Orbit]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()