Astronaut walter cunningham, the last surviving member of the first nasa mission to ever broadcast live tv from orbit, has died at the age of 90. he was part of the apollo 7 mission that tested the ability to dock and rendezvous in space and won an emmy for their broadcast. the mission paved the way for the moon landing by apollo 11 less than a year later.
7 was an 11-day manned mission in 1968 that took place in space. the mission was launched from the kennedy space center in florida and was the first successful manned mission in the apollo program. cunningham was born in creston, iowa, and went on to earn a masters degree in physics from the university of california in los angeles.
Was one of three astronauts chosen for the first manned spaceflight in the apollo program. he had previously served in the us navy and marines and flew 54 missions in a fighter jet over korea, retiring at the rank of colonel. the mission was meant to test the ability to dock and rendezvous in space, and was instrumental to the success of the moon landing by apollo 11 less than a year later. after retiring from nasa in 1971, cunningham became a public speaker and radio host, as well as an outspoken denier of human-caused climate change.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64159514?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
