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

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.

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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.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.