Wally Funk, a pioneering female aviator who became the oldest woman to travel to space, has died at the age of 87.

Local politician Dove O'Dell stated on Thursday that Funk passed away on Wednesday at a senior living apartment in Grapevine, Texas, near Dallas and Fort Worth. O'Dell, who described herself as Funk's caregiver, said she was by Funk's side. Funk had recently experienced several falls and developed an infection in her leg.

Funk was one of thirteen female pilots in the early 1960s who underwent the same rigorous testing as NASA's all-male astronaut corps but was never selected for a space mission by the agency. In 2021, she received the opportunity to fly on a rocket operated by Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.

At the time of her flight, Funk was the oldest person to have traveled to space, though that record was later broken by *Star Trek* actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America's first Black astronaut candidate, who both flew at age 90.

Bezos selected Funk as an "honored guest" to join him and two others on the suborbital flight, which launched from and returned to West Texas.

In a post on X, Blue Origin stated that Funk was "a pioneer in every sense of the word."

"We were honored to be part of her journey," the post read.

According to a brief biography released by the city of Grapevine, Funk was the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

In the 1960s, she and other female pilots participated in astronaut training under the Mercury 13 program but were barred from becoming astronauts.

"Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would fly to space. Her love of flying, her perseverance, and her spirit of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted on X on Thursday.