82-year-old to join Jeff Bezos on space flight

July 2, 2021 carleyshaffer1 US 0

Future space tourists led by Wally Funk (R), who have paid their deposits on the $200,000.00 fare, celebrate before the Virgin Galactic VSS Enterprise spacecraft makes it's first public landing during the Spaceport America runway dedication ceremony near Las Cruces, New Mexico on October 22, 2010. The world's first private passenger spaceship passed another milestone toward its commercial lift-off at it's remote spaceport in the New Mexico desert. Flamboyant British billionaire Richard Branson and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson hosted a ceremony marking the completion of the main runway at Spaceport America, near the town of Las Cruces where the Virgin Galactic project is based. "The mothership has been finished and flying for a while now," Branson said. "We'll do many, many, many test flights over the next 12 months to maybe 18 months before we actually send people up into space. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Future space tourists led by Wally Funk (R). (MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:51 PM PT – Thursday, July 1, 2021

Jeff Bezos announced Wally Funk will be the fourth person to join him on his rocket company’s first human space flight. Bezos honored guest aboard Blue Origin is 82 years of age.

On Thursday, the billionaire and Amazon CEO surprised Funk who will be joining him alongside his brother Mark and the winner of the auction, on the flight scheduled for July 20.

Funk will qualify as the oldest person to ever travel to space after being denied the job of astronaut back in the 1960s due to her gender. The aviation pioneer was one of 13 female fliers who passed NASA’s astronaut training program known as Mercury 13, none of whom ended up going to space.

Welcome aboard, Wally. Here’s the moment Jeff Bezos asked Wally Funk to join our first human flight on July 20 as our honored guest. https://t.co/ESBJ7bxErK

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 1, 2021

In a video posted to Bezo’s Instagram, Funk said “they told me I had done better or completed the work faster than any of the guys.” She was also the first female Federal Aviation Administration inspector and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Funk said she didn’t think she’d ever get to go up and is now receiving the opportunity of a lifetime. Bezos said no one has waited longer than Funk.

In the meantime, Blue Origin’s first human space flight is set to take off on July 20.