Jeff Bezos announced to the world that he will be flying to space aboard his company’s Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. At that time, they still had one seat left for another crew, and the hunt for him or her had begun.
Bezos’ introduced his co-passenger at the New Shepard rocket
Now it was announced that Jeff Bezos finally found the person who will take the last vacant seat in their flight to space on July 20. Fox Business reported that the Amazon CEO picked an 82-year-old female to join him in the flight.
The woman has been identified to be Mary Wallace Funk or Wally for short. She has been described as an aerospace pioneer and she is now confirmed to join in the first manned flight to space.
The billionaire introduced Wally to the public through a video he posted on Instagram. In the clip, Bezos and Wally talked about the flight and a bit about her background in the aerospace line.
"I have been flying forever and I've got 19,600 flying hours," Wally excitedly said in the clip. "I have taught over 3,000 people to fly private, commercial, instrument, flight engineer, airline transport, lighting and everything that the Federal Aviation Administration has, I've got the license for."
The impressive background and achievement of Wally
BBC News reported that the 82-year-old was born in New Mexico, and she has an extraordinary love of aviation. She used to train to become an astronaut, and that was 60 years ago, but the mission did not push through, and the women who took part in the training never got to fly to space.
She made some history in the aviation sphere as she served as the first female air safety investigator for the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB). She was also the first woman to become an inspector for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Now, she is set to make another history when she flies with Jeff Bezos on a journey to space as she will be the oldest person to do so.
Meanwhile, the others who will join Jeff Bezos in the flight are his younger brother, Mark Bezos, and an auction winner who paid $28 million for a seat on the New Shepard. He beat 7,000 bidders to be on the trip to space.


Alphabet Stock Slides as Google AI Pioneer Jeff Dean Exits to Launch Discovery Loop
China Inflation Cools in July as CPI Misses Forecast, PPI Deflation Eases
Asian Stocks Mixed as Chip Selloff Hits KOSPI, Nikkei Ahead of US Jobs Data
South Korean Won Leads Asian FX Losses as Dollar Rises
Trump Unveils $3 Billion U.S. Critical Minerals Push
Iran-Oman Near Strait of Hormuz Deal as Shipping Tensions Persist
Goldman Sachs Sees US Stock Buybacks Outpacing Equity Issuance as AI Funding Rises
Japan Executives Warn Weak Yen and Currency Volatility Threaten Economy
Sinopec Boosts Russian ESPO Oil Purchases as Middle East Supply Tightens
Canada, US Hold Constructive Trade Talks as Tariff Negotiations Continue
Apple Tests China’s CXMT Memory Chips for iPhones and MacBooks Amid AI Supply Crunch
Sony, TSMC Eye $6.3 Billion Japan Chip Venture for Next-Gen Image Sensors
US Stock Futures Flat as Iran Strait of Hormuz Demands Fuel Oil Concerns
Shein Scales Back Vietnam Operations as US Trade Rules Shift
US Job Growth Seen Picking Up in July
Asian Stocks Rise as Weak US Jobs Data Eases Fed Rate Hike Fears 



