Walter Cunningham, the last manned Apollo astronaut, dies at 90

MADRID, 4 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Walter Cunningham, the last of the three astronauts aboard the first manned Apollo spaceflight that orbited the Earth in 1968, has died Tuesday at the age of 90 in Houston, the US space agency NASA has announced.

"NASA will always remember his contributions to our nation's space program and sends our condolences to the Cunningham family," NASA Director Bill Nelson said.

"Walt Cunningham was a fighter pilot, a physicist and a businessman, but, above all, he was an explorer," said Nelson, who has ensured that "Walt and his crewmates made history" on Apollo 7, "paving the way for the Artemis Generation we see today".

The former astronaut's family have said they would like to express their "immense pride in the life he lived" as well as "deep gratitude for the man he was." "The world has lost another true hero, and he will be greatly missed", he has sentenced.

NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche added that they are "indebted to Walt's service," while highlighting "his dedication to advancing human space exploration."

Cunnigham was born in Creston, Iowa, on March 16, 1932. After graduating with a degree in physics, he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1963. After leaving the space agency in 1971, he went on to lead multiple technical and financial organizations.

His companions on Apollo 7, Walter Schirra and Donn Fulton Eisele, died in 2007 and 1987 respectively.