Wally Funk, oldest woman to go to space, joins Stars for NASA Night

History was written in the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.

The Stars hosted NASA Night at American Airlines Center and since they couldn't bring the fans to space, they brought space to them.
Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk, an American pilot and commercial astronaut, was in attendance and received a custom Stars jersey. She greeted the crowd with an ear-to-ear smile and bear-hug arms.

In 1961, Funk was one of 13 women pilots selected to undergo testing for Project Mercury: NASA's first human spaceflight program.
Despite strong medical and psychological test results, the then-22-year-old, along with the rest of the women, were not chosen to go into space, only the men were.
Sixty years later, Funk was finally chosen to take flight.
On July 20, 2021, Funk joined Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on his flight to the edge of space aboard a rocket and capsule developed by his private spaceflight company Blue Origin. Aboard the flight was also Bezos' brother Mark and Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands who became the youngest person to reach space.
And Funk, at age 82, who became the oldest woman to lift off.
Also in attendance for NASA Night was NASA Flight Director Paul Konyha, who performed the pre-game ceremonial puck drop.

It was an other-wordly night for all.