The richest, oldest, and youngest crew have returned to Earth after New Shepard’s first successful human-manned space flight mission to orbit.
Jeff Bezos was the richest, of course.
While Wally Funk’s journey to space began in the 1960s, when she was the youngest graduate of the Woman in Space Program, a privately-funded project which tested female pilots for astronaut fitness.
Later known as the “Mercury 13” – thirteen American women successfully underwent the same physiological and psychological screening tests as the astronauts selected by NASA for Project Mercury, but they never flew to space. Wally was the youngest graduate of this program.
She was the first female FAA inspector and first female NTSB air safety investigator. The 82-year-old pilot has now become the oldest person ever to fly to space.
At 18-years-old, Oliver Daemen is the first paying customer to fly on board New Shepard, marking the beginning of commercial operations for the program. Also, the youngest to date.
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