Last surviving astronaut of NASA'S Apollo 7 mission, Walter Cunningham, passes away at 90

The last surviving astronaut ofNASA's first successful crewed space mission, Walter Cunningham, passed away at the age of 90.

The death was confirmed by a NASA spokesperson, Bob Jacobs. His wife, Dot Cunnigham, in a statement, said he passed away on Tuesday (Jan 3) but did not mention the cause of death.

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Apollo 7 was a magnificent step toward space, making way for the moon landing. It was also NASA's first successful crew mission since the deaths of Apollo 1 astronauts on the Kennedy launching pad in January 1967.

Cunningham, then a civilian, was one of the three astronauts aboard the 1968 Apollo 7 mission, an 11-day flight transmitting live broadcasts as it orbited Earth.

He crewed the mission with US navy Capt Walter M Schirra and US air force major Donn F Eisele.

NASA in a statement said that the three astronauts flew a perfect mission, making the space agency send the next crew during the Apollo 8 mission.

Remembering the successful mission, Cunningham in 2017 during an event at the Kennedy Space Sation said, "enabled us to overcome all the obstacles we had after the Apollo 1 fire and it became the longest, most successful test flight of any flying machine ever."

(With inputs from agencies)

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