Remembering Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham, in 10 photos

In memoriam Without his pivotal work, humans may have never landed on the Moon. by Jennifer Walter Jan. 4, 2023

NASA At 90 years old, former astronaut Walter Cunningham died this month. He was the last living member of the Apollo 7 crew.

In 1968, Cunningham piloted NASA’s first crewed Apollo flight. Along with fellow astronauts Walter Schirra Jr. and Donn Eisele, he spent almost 11 days in orbit around Earth. HUM Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Apollo 7 was designed to test out the command and service module in low-Earth orbit before sending it to the Moon.

HUM Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images It was the first time after the Apollo 1 disaster that NASA attempted to launch a crewed flight into space.

Cunningham and his crewmate’s success paved the way for the first humans to land on the lunar surface less than a year later.

Here are 10 key moments from Cunningham’s time on Apollo 7:

NASA 10. Cunningham (left) poses with Schirra and Eisele for an official portrait.

9. A few months before launch, the crew ran through their post-splashdown rescue procedure in the Gulf of Mexico. NASA

8. A technician helps Cunningham adjust his suit on the morning of launch day.

NASA; scan by Ed Hengeveld

7. Liftoff! Apollo 7 bucks into space on October 11, 1968.

NASA 6. The second stage of the Saturn IB rocket that carried the crew into space drifts over Earth after separating from the crew module.

5. While in orbit, the astronauts conducted the first live TV broadcast from a crewed spacecraft.

4. The Sun shines over the Gulf of Mexico, as captured by the Apollo 7 crew.

3. Cunningham gazes upward in this pensive portrait from orbit.

HUM Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images 2. After a successful splashdown on October 22, 1968, the crew was hoisted into a helicopter and taken to the USS Essex.