Who is Wally Funk, and Why is She Important?
Mary Wallace Funk is the oldest person to go into space. At 82, she broke the record established by Senator John Glenn when he was 77. Wally Funk was one of the Mercury 13; she is the first of the Mercury Thirteen to go into space.
Who or What Were the Mercury 13?
Did you learn about the Mercury 13 in your science class at school? No. What about social studies? No. Neither did I.
“The Mercury 13 were thirteen American women who, as part of a privately funded program, successfully underwent the same physiological screening tests as had the astronauts selected by NASA on April 9, 1959, for Project Mercury. The term was coined in 1995 by Hollywood producer James Cross as a comparison to the Mercury Seven name given to the selected male astronauts. The Mercury 13 women were not part of NASA’s astronaut program, never flew in space as part of a NASA mission [until July 20,2021], and never met as a group.” from Wikipedia.
- Myrtle Cagle
- Jerrie Cobb
- Janet Dietrich
- Marion Dietrich, twin of Janet Dietrich
- Wally Funk
- Sarah Gorelick (later Ratley)
- Jane “Janey” Briggs Hart
- Jean Hixson
- Rhea Woltman
- Gene Nora Stumbough (later Jessen)
- Irene Leverton
- Jerri Sloan (later Truhill)
- Bernice Steadman
It seems mildly ironic that Wally Funk was the youngest of the Mercury 13 back in the Sixties, and now in the 21st century she is the oldest person to go into space. Blue Origin had both the oldest and youngest astronauts in human history, Oliver Daemen at 18, and Mary Wallace Funk at 82.
Wally Funk was a pilot; she had over 3,000 hours in the cockpit when she joined the Mercury 13. She was the first female civilian flight instructor at Ft. Sills, Oklahoma. She was the first female FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) inspector. She was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. She is now an astronaut.
July 20 is an important day for those of us who proudly consider ourselves Space Fans, Freaks, and Geeks.
“On the twentieth of July, on the twentieth of July, the first manned lunar landing was the Twentieth of July.” Lee Gold
This is the anniversary of the first manned lunar landing, when Viking touched down on Mars, and when Jeff and Mark Bezos went into space with an all-civilian crew. ’Tis also Kate Gilmore and Barney Evans’ wedding anniversary.
