Wally Funk, Who Trained To Be An Astronaut 60 Years Ago, To Join Bezos In Space

Published July 2, 2021 at 7:42 AM EDT

NOEL KING, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Noel King.

Wally Funk always wanted to go to space. In 1961, she graduated with high marks from the Mercury 13 program, a private initiative that trained women to be astronauts. Then it was canceled. And she was never accepted by NASA. But at the age of 82, she's going get her chance. Funk is joining Jeff Bezos on his trip to space. They're set to launch on July 20. And she says she can hardly wait.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Donate