Nationality: USA
Inducted: 2024
Notable Record(s):
- Oldest person in space (female)
An ICON because...
Born in 1939, Wally's passion for spaceflight began early.
Between brilliantly graduating Oklahoma State University, which offered the best pilot training program in the US, and entering the Mercury 13 program, the American pilot proved her talent as a pilot on multiple occasions.
Sadly, her brilliant skills and training soon collided against the harsh wall of gender discrimination in a male-dominated field.
In 1960s the concept of a female pilot seemed unthinkable: Wally saw her applications relentlessly rejected because of her gender, and NASA's spaceflight programs were only accessible to men.
However, she continued to work as a flight instructor and never gave up on her dream.
Wally finally crowned her lifelong dream in 2021 thanks to Jeff Bezos's "Blue Origin NS-16" program, becoming the oldest woman in space at the age of 82 years 169 days.
