Walter Cunningham, the last of the three astronauts aboard the first manned Apollo space flight that orbited Earth in 1968, died Tuesday at age 90 in Houston, the U.S. space agency NASA announced.
«NASA will always remember his contributions to our nation’s space program and sends our condolences to the Cunningham family,» NASA Director Bill Nelson said.
«Walt Cunningham was a fighter pilot, physicist and entrepreneur, but, above all, he was an explorer,» said Nelson, who said that «Walt and his crewmates made history» on Apollo 7, «paving the way for the Artemis Generation we see today.»
The former astronaut’s family has stated that they would like to express their «immense pride in the life he lived,» as well as «deep gratitude for the man he was.» «The world has lost another true hero, and we will miss him greatly,» he has sentenced.
NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche added that they are «indebted to Walt’s service,» while noting «his dedication to the advancement of human space exploration.»
Cunnigham was born in Creston, Iowa, on March 16, 1932. After graduating with a degree in physics, he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1963. After leaving the space agency in 1971, he went on to lead multiple technical and financial organizations.
His Apollo 7 crewmates, Walter Schirra and Donn Fulton Eisele, died in 2007 and 1987 respectively.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
