THE LAST APOLLO 7 ' WALTER CUNNINGHAM ' PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 90.(PHOTOS).#RIP ASTRONAUT.

R.I.P. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut Walter Cunningham (March 16th, 1932 to January 3rd, 2023).

Walter Cunningham served as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 7 - the first crewed, Low Earth Orbit flight of the Apollo program, in 1968.

He was the last surviving crew member of that historic mission.

Ronnie Walter Cunningham; Born March 16th, 1932; was NASA's third civilian astronaut, a fighter pilot, physicist, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. Cunningham began flight training in 1952, served on active duty as a fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1953 until 1956, where he completed 54 missions as a night fighter pilot in Korea, ultimately retiring at the rank of colonel.

On October 11th, 1968, Ronnie Walter Cunningham launched away from Cape Canaveral on board a Saturn V rocket in the Lunar Module Pilot seat for the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7, on the very first launch of a crewed Apollo mission. 

At the time of his retirement, Cunningham accumulated over 4,500 hours of flying time, including more than 3,400 in jet aircraft and 263 hours in space.

Sadly, on January 3rd, 2023, "Star Voyager" Ronnie Walter Cunningham , the last surviving member of Apollo 7 flew west from his home in Houston at 90 years of age…

Ronnie Walter Cunningham

(March 16, 1932 – January 3, 2023)

NASA Distinguished Service Medal

NASA Exceptional Service Medal

AIAA Haley Astronautics Award, 1969

Medal of Valor, American Legion, 1975

Houston Hall of Fame

International Space Hall of Fame, inducted in 1983

U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997

Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame, inducted in 2003

International Air & Space Hall of Fame, San Diego Air and Space Museum, inducted in 2011

"I find myself now preaching about the golden age of manned spaceflight, because something went on there, within us, that we’re missing. When we went to the Moon, it was not only just standing on a new plateau for all mankind. We changed the way everybody in the world thought of themselves, you know. It was a change that went on inside of us. And we’re losing that." 

NASA Astronaut R. Walter Cunningham