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Astronauts

Walt Cunningham (Update)

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
January 3, 2023
Walt Cunningham (Update)
Astronaut Walter Cunningham

Keith’s note: Astronaut Walter Cunningham has died. Details to follow. Ad Astra. Update below: Cunningham Family Statement on the passing of R. Walter Cunningham

HOUSTON – Retired NASA astronaut “Walt” Cunningham, Apollo 7 lunar module pilot, has died today at the age of 90. Cunningham was the third civilian astronaut selected by NASA in 1963. He flew the first crewed Apollo mission that lasted eleven days, setting the stage for the ensuing manned missions to the Moon. His contributions to the space program spanned 60 years starting with Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab programs, and continuing as an innovator, entrepreneur and consultant with start-up businesses following his departure from NASA.

He was born in Creston, Iowa, on March 16, 1932, and grew up in Los Angeles, CA. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1951 and served as an active- duty United States Marine Corps fighter pilot, and then served in the USMC Reserve, retiring at the rank of colonel. Following active duty, Cunningham earned a bachelors and a masters degree, in Physics, at UCLA followed by three years with the Rand Corporation before his selection as an astronaut.

Cunningham is survived by his wife Dorothy, his sister Cathy Cunningham, and his children Brian and Kimberly.

The family offers the following statement:

“We would like to express our immense pride in the life that he lived, and our deep gratitude for the man that he was – a patriot, an explorer, pilot, astronaut, husband, brother, and father. The world has lost another true hero, and we will miss him dearly.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

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