Wally Funk, 82-Year-Old Female Aviator Will Join Jeff Bezos On His Maiden Space Voyage

Barrier-breaking woman aviator Wally Funk, 82, will join Jeff Bezos this month on the first crewed spaceflight for the billionaire's company Blue Origin, the firm announced on July 1. The trip is 60 years overdue for Funk, who was one of the Mercury 13, the first women trained to fly to space from 1960-1961, but excluded because of their gender. On July 20, she will become the oldest person ever to go to space when she takes part in the journey aboard the New Shepard launch vehicle along with Bezos, his brother Mark & one other traveler who paid $28 million at auction for the seat. "I can hardly wait," Funk says in a video posted on Bezos's Instagram account. The video shows Bezos describing the trip to Funk, and then asking her what would be the first thing she said after landing. "I would say, 'Honey, that was the best thing that ever happened to me!'" replies an exuberant Funk, throwing her arms around the laughing tech mogul. Blue Origin's maiden crewed flight comes amid fierce competition in the field of private space exploration, with Elon Musk's SpaceX & Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, all jostling for pole position. Watch the video to know more.