A month ago, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he would become the first billionaire to fly into space on July 20. Today, he announced via Instagram that the fourth passenger will be Wally Funk, a member of the Mercury 13 program.
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Wally Funk (82) will be the oldest person on a flight organized by Bezos' space tourism company Blue Origin.
However, Funk was the first female inspector general for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
"In 1961, Wally Funk was first in her class on the Mercury 13 Woman in Space program." Despite the completion of the training, the program was canceled and none of the thirteen flew," explained Bezos.
Jeff Bezos, Wally Funk and…
In the video, Bezos asks Funk what her first words will be after touching down. Funk replies, "I'm gonna say, 'Honey, that's the best thing that ever happened to me,' and I'm gonna give you a hug!"
In fact, Funk managed to accumulate 19 flight hours.
"I'm licensed for everything the FAA has," she said. "And I can outrun you." Funk also recalled her time in the Mercury 13 program, which was privately funded and separate from NASA's efforts to recruit the first American astronauts.
"They told me I did better and finished the job faster than any of the guys," she said. "So I ended up at NASA four times. I said: "I want to become an astronaut, but no one will accept me."
"I didn't think I would ever be able to get up," she added. "They said, 'Wally, you're a girl!' You can't do that! ". I said: “Guess what? It doesn't matter who you are. You can still do it if you want to do it. And I like to do things that no one has ever done before.''
"This is an adventure. It's a big deal for me."
As for the remaining two passengers, Wally and Jeff will fly into space with Mark, Bezos' brother, and an unidentified person who paid $28 million at the auction.
"Since I was five years old, I dreamed of traveling in space," Bezos said. "On July 20, I will make this trip together with my brother. The greatest adventure with my best friend.” He also added that he always dreamed about it.
By the way, Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, and Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, have not yet gone with their companies into space.
We remind you that two seats are still waiting for passengers.
