R. Walter Cunningham | |
|---|---|
 Cunningham in 1964 | |
| Born | Ronnie Walter Cunningham (1932-03-16)March 16, 1932 Creston, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | January 3, 2023(2023-01-03) (aged 90) |
| Resting place | Texas State Cemetery |
| Education | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | (see§ Awards and honors) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,USMCR |
Time in space | 10d 20h 8m |
| Selection | NASA Group 3 (1963) |
| Missions | Apollo 7 |
Mission insignia |  |
| Retirement | August 1, 1971 |
| Website | Official website |
Ronnie Walter Cunningham (March 16, 1932 – January 3, 2023) was an Americanastronaut,fighter pilot,physicist, entrepreneur,venture capitalist, and author of the 1977 bookThe All-American Boys. NASA's third civilian astronaut (afterNeil Armstrong andElliot See), he was alunar module pilot on theApollo 7 mission in 1968.
Cunningham was born inCreston, Iowa, on March 16, 1932.[1] He graduated fromVenice High School inLos Angeles, California, in 1950. The science building is named Cunningham Hall in his honor.[1][2]
Thereafter, Cunningham continued his education at nearbySanta Monica College[3] until joining theU.S. Navy in 1951. He beganflight training in 1952 and served onactive duty as afighter pilot with theU.S. Marine Corps from 1953 until 1956, flying 54missions as a night fighter pilot inKorea. Armistice discussions were still ongoing when Cunningham initially left for Korea, and theKorean Armistice Agreement was signed just before he arrived.[4] From 1956 to 1975, he continued to serve in theUnited States Marine Corps Reserve, ultimately retiring at the rank ofcolonel.[1]
Cunningham married the former Lo Ella Irby ofNorwalk, California, and had two children, Brian and Kimberley. Walter and Lo Ella eventually divorced. In addition to his sister and his children, he was survived by his second wife, retired Houston businesswoman Dorothy "Dot" Cunningham.[5][6]
Upon completing his service obligation, Cunningham resumed his studies at Santa Monica College before transferring to theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1958.[3] Cunningham received hisBachelor of Arts degree with honors in 1960, and hisMaster of Arts degree with distinction in 1961, both inphysics, from UCLA. He completed all requirements save for the dissertation for aDoctor of Philosophy degree in physics at UCLA during his time atRAND Corporation, where he spent three years prior to his NASA selection.[1]
In October 1963, Cunningham was one of thethird group of astronauts selected byNASA. On October 11, 1968, he occupied the Lunar Module Pilot seat for the eleven-day flight ofApollo 7, the first launch of a crewed Apollo mission.[1] The flight carried noLunar Module and Cunningham was responsible for all spacecraft systems except launch and navigation. The crew kept busy with myriad system tests, including successfully completed test firing of the service module engine and measuring the accuracy of the spacecraft systems.[7] Following the mission, Cunningham went on to head up the Skylab branch of the Flight Crew Directorate and left NASA in 1971.[8][1]
Cunningham accumulated more than 4,500 hours of flying time, including more than 3,400 injet aircraft and 263 hours inspace.[1]
In 1974, Cunningham attendedHarvard Business School's six-weekAdvanced Management Program and later worked as a businessman and investor in a number of private ventures.[1] In 1977, he publishedThe All-American Boys, a reminiscence of his astronaut days.[9] He was also a major contributor to and foreword writer for the 2007 space history bookIn the Shadow of the Moon.[10] In 2018, Cunningham joined the Back to Space organization as an Astronaut Consultant with the goal of inspiring the next generation to go to Mars.[11]
In 2008, NASA awarded Cunningham theNASA Distinguished Service Medal for his Apollo 7 mission.[12] He became a radio talk-show host and public speaker, worked as a consultant to start-up technology companies, and was chairman of the Texas Aerospace Commission.[1]
Cunningham died in Houston on January 3, 2023, at age 90, from complications resulting from a fall.[13][14]
Cunningham rejected thescientific consensus on climate change. His biography page at theCO2 Coalition said "Since 2000, he has been writing and speaking out on the hoax that humans are controlling the temperature of the earth."[15]
In 2010, Cunningham published a short book titled "Global Warming: Facts versus Faith".[16] In an editorial published in theHouston Chronicle on August 15, 2010, Cunningham claimed that the empirical evidence did not support global warming.[17] In 2012, he and other former astronauts and NASA employees sent a critical letter to the agency highlighting what they believed to be "unproven assertions that man-made carbon dioxide was a major factor in global warming."[18]
Cunningham was an associatefellow of theAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, fellow of theAmerican Astronautical Society, and member of theSociety of Experimental Test Pilots,American Geophysical Union,Explorers Club,Sigma Pi Sigma andSigma Xi,Association of Space Explorers,CO2 Coalition, Houston American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, Aviation Subcommittee, Houston Chamber of Commerce, Earth Awareness Foundation, and National Association of Small Business Investment Companies.[19][1][20][15]
Cunningham was a recipient of numerous national and international honors, including:
In the 1998HBO miniseriesFrom the Earth to the Moon, Cunningham is portrayed byFredric Lehne.
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