Walter Cunningham was an American astronaut, fighter pilot, physicist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author.
Walter Cunningham was married the former Lo Ella Irby of Norwalk, California for sometime. However, Walter and Lo Ella divorced. There is no information about his marital status at the time of his death.
Walter Cunningham passed away at a hospital in Houston on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, from natural causes at the age of 90.
Walter Cunningham was born in Creston, Iowa, on March 16, 1932. He was NASA’s third civilian astronaut after Neil Armstrong and Elliot See and he piloted the Apollo 7 lunar module on the 1968 mission.
Walter Cunningham was the last surviving member of the Apollo 7 crew. He became a public speaker and radio host after leaving Nasa in 1971.
Walter Cunningham received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his Apollo 7 mission in 2008.
He went on to become a radio talk show host and public speaker, a consultant to start-up technology companies, and the chairman of the Texas Aerospace Commission.
Walter Cunningham joined Back to Space as an Astronaut Consultant in 2018, with the goal of inspiring the next generation to go to Mars.