Walter R Cunningham
- Category : Business-Top-executive
- Type : PEG
- Profile : 4/6 - Opportunistic / Role Model
- Definition : Split - Large
- Incarnation Cross : RAX Eden 1
Biography
American astronaut who went into space aboard the Apollo 7 on 11 October 1968 with Walt Schurra and Donn Eisele. The purpose of the mission was a thorough test of the Apollo and its systems as well as the astronauts on board. During the 11-day mission, he was systems engineer, monitoring the electrical communications and life support systems. All three astronauts caught cold, a first in space. They re-entered the earth's atmosphere without helmets so as not to rupture their eardrums.
Cunningham resigned from NASA on 1 August 1971 to become V.P. of Century Development Corp, Houston, Texas.
He is the author of The All-American Boys (1977), a reminiscence of his astronaut days. Following the deaths of Donn F. Eisele in 1987 and Wally Schirra in 2007, Cunningham is the last surviving crew member of Apollo 7.