Walter Cunningham, last surviving Apollo 7 astronaut, dies at 90.
Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from NASA’s famed Apollo 7 mission, died early Tuesday in Houston at age 90, officials said.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson confirmed Cunningham’s death in a statement. He described the late astronaut as having paved the way for future U.S. space travel as one of three members on Apollo 7, the first successful crewed space flight of NASA’s Apollo program.
“Walter Cunningham was a fighter pilot, physicist and an entrepreneur — but above all, he was an explorer,” Nelson said. “NASA will always remember his contributions to our nation’s space program and sends our condolences to the Cunningham family.”
Cunningham, along with Donn Eisele and Walter “Wally” Schirra, was aboard the 11-day Apollo 7 mission that launched on Oct. 11, 1968.