GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87.
Funk died Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O'Dell said Thursday. O'Dell, who described herself as Funk's caregiver, said she was by Funk's side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.
“It took its toll,” O'Dell said in a phone interview.
Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but never made it into space with that agency. In 2021, she got her chance aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.
At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest person to go into space, though the record was later broken by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate. They were both 90.
Bezos chose Funk as an “honored guest” to ride alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas.
In a post on X, Blue Origin said Funk was a “pioneer in every sense of the word.”
“We were humbled to be part of her journey,” the post said.
O’Dell said Funk was the “most eternally optimistic person” she had ever met.
“She was told by many, many, many men, ‘No, you can’t do this. No you can’t do that,’ ” O’Dell said. “And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”
Funk was the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a brief biography released by the City of Grapevine.
In the 1960s, she and other female pilots went through astronaut training in the Mercury 13 program, but they were not allowed to become astronauts.
“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would reach space. Her passion for flight, perseverance, and love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted Thursday on X.
FILE - Wally Funk, right, describes her flight experience as Mark Bezos, left, and Jeff Bezos, left, center, applaud in the spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who lived in the U.S. for decades, as the homebuilder drove his construction crew to a Houston job site.
His death set off protests in Texas' largest city and calls from Democrats and Salgado Araujo 's family for an independent investigation. The shooting on Tuesday in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood is at least the eighth death during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said federal officers were looking for someone they had targeted weeks before when they attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Salgado Araujo. In a statement, DHS said Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and that a federal officer fired a weapon in self-defense.
Salgado Araujo’s family said he had nearly finished the long process of obtaining legal status in the U.S. after living in the country for 35 years, and that he knew what to do if approached by ICE officers. Ronaldo Salgado, his son, said his father may have been scared that the people in unmarked vehicles were coming to steal his work tools.
Here’s what we know about Salgado Araujo’s shooting:
Few photos or video surrounding the shooting in Houston have emerged on social media, unlike other deaths involving federal immigration officers.
DHS said weeks before the shooting, agents investigating a tip saw two white vans at the address of a target. While heading to that address Tuesday, officers saw a white van and someone inside who resembled the person they were looking for, the department said in a statement.
DHS said an officer opened fire after Salgado Araujo ignored commands and attempted to ram the officer with his vehicle. The agency has not released any video or photos.
A video shot by bystander Juliet Martinez shows the aftermath of the shooting. A black vehicle is angled toward a white van, their doors wide open. A bleeding and handcuffed man groans loudly on the ground and his leg shakes. Other federal officers stand over at least three other handcuffed men.
ICE has not released the names of the other men detained, but Salgado Araujo’s family identified one as his brother. Families of the other two men said they were able to briefly talk to them Wednesday and they are being detained.
ICE said Thursday that the officers involved in the shooting were not wearing body cameras. They have not said if agents were specifically targeting Salgado Araujo or whether the officers involved are on leave.
Salgado Araujo and his wife came to America after meeting in their teens in Mexico and deciding they wanted a better life for their future family, Ronaldo Salgado said.
The father of three built houses in the Houston suburbs, started his own business and established his own crew. He had no criminal record, his family said.
Ronaldo Salgado, the oldest son, became a teacher. He said one of his brothers is an engineer and the other is studying engineering in college.
His son said he was a quiet man who left for work at sunrise and loved to pet his dog and sit on his porch listening to music.
“That’s how I want the world to know my father. Not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understood that good things come to those who put in hard work,” Salgado said.
Salgado Araujo was at least the eighth person to die during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. No immigration officers have been charged in the deaths and video footage in several previous shootings contradicts the accounts of federal officers.
The most well-known of the killings happened during the winter crackdown in Minnesota where U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed during protests.
Two other shooting deaths happened during traffic stops, including Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, who was killed in Texas in March 2025. His death was not disclosed for nearly a year.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said it is time to escalate Mexico's complaints beyond diplomatic channels after the killing of Salgado Araujo.
“We are going to do everything in our power, because we cannot stand silent” in the face of the deaths of Mexicans “whose only crime is working honestly in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexico will request that criminal charges be filed in U.S. courts over the alleged killing of three Mexicans during ICE operations and the deaths of another 14 in ICE custody, Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said Thursday during a presidential press conference.
The complaints, filed against whoever is found responsible for the deaths, will be submitted to state prosecutor offices and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Homeland Security said Tuesday that the department's Inspector General’s office was investigating the shooting.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said Salgado Araujo’s family and the community deserve the truth. His office said Thursday that they are "pursuing investigative avenues available to us and will conduct a review of any information we collect within our reach.”
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said city police were not involved in any part of the chase or shooting and have no jurisdiction over federal officers.
Brook reported from New Orleans and Collins from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press reporters Gisela Salomon in Miami; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; and Ryan J. Foley in Omaha contributed.
This story has been corrected to show that Mexico plans to request criminal charges, not that it will file the charges.
Lorenzo Salgado Jr., son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, holds a family photograph during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A man walks past a makeshift memorial for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, speaks during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Ronaldo Salgado and Lorenzo Jr., sons of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, hold a photograph of their father during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Candles are lit during a vigil for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national fatally shot by a federal immigration agent a day prior, Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Mark Felix)
