An 82-year-old pilot will join Jeff Bezos on his first trip to space!
Kent, Washington - After being denied her chance to go to space in the 1960s solely based on her gender, Wally Funk is headed to space with Jeff Bezos next month for the first time In her life.
It's not every day someone gets offered the chance to travel to space with Jeff Bezos. But when you're the trailblazer that Wally Funk is, there's always a way.
On Thursday, Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin announced that Funk (82) would be joining the Amazon founder on his first trip with a full crew to space.
In the 1960s, Funk became one of thirteen women to pass the Woman in Space program.
Even though she passed the required physiological and psychological screening tests at NASA for a chance to be a part of Project Mercury, she was denied the chance solely because she was a woman.
With 19,600 flying hours under her belt and a lifelong dream of space travel, Funk is finally getting her chance to check off this major bucket list task.
In a video posted by Jeff Bezos on Instagram, Funk enthusiastically opened up about her long journey to space and how she's dealt with the many naysayers of the world.
"Nothing has ever gotten in my way. They said, 'Wally, you're a girl, you can't do that!' I said, 'Guess what? Doesn't matter what you are. You can still do it if you wanna do it."
At 82 years old, Funk will be the oldest person to travel to space as part of the crew on the New Shepard rocket, which is set to take flight on July 20.
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire / Everett Collection