Encyclopedia entry

Cunningham, Ronnie Walter 'Walt'

Person · USA

Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.

American pilot astronaut 1963-1971.

Official NASA Biography as of June 2016:

Walter Cunningham
NASA Astronaut (former)

PERSONAL DATA: Born March 16, 1932, in Creston, Iowa. Grown children, Brian and Kimberly.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Venice High School, Venice, California; received a Bachelor of Arts with honors in Physics in 1960 and a Master of Arts with distinction in Physics in 1961 from the University of California at Los Angeles; completed a Doctorate in Physics with exception of thesis; Advanced Management Program, Harvard Graduate School of Business, 1974; NASA (Space Sciences and Geology) with 2,000 hours, 1963-1971.

ORGANIZATIONS: Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Society; Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots; The American Geophysical Union; Explorers Club; Sigma Pi Sigma, and Lifetime Sigma Xi. Chairman of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Alumni Fund Drive, 1969 and 1970; Chairman, Aviation Sub-committee Houston Chamber of Commerce; Houston-Galveston Area Council; Chairman, Airport Advisory Committee; Advisory Board for the Edward Teller Center; Board of Governors, Houston Center Club and a member of the Houston American Revolution Bicentennial Commission. National Association of Small Business Investment Companies; Chairman, Texas Aerospace Commission; Advisory Board, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (5 years); Founding/Director, Earth Awareness Foundation and A-1 Answering Service of Texas.

SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and NASA Distinguished Service Medal; Navy Astronaut Wings; Co-recipient of the American Institute of Aeronatics and Astronautics (AIAA) Haley Astronautics Award, 1969; presented the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Professional Achievement Award, 1969 and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustee Award, 1969 (Emmy); The American Legion Medal of Valor, and Outstanding American Award of the American Conservative Union, 1975; Distinguished Service Award, California Newspaper Boy Foundation, 1969; inducted in to the Astronaut Hall of Fame, International Space Hall of Fame, Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame, San Diego Air and Space Museum Hall of Fame, and Houston Hall of Fame; Distinguished Service Award, California Newspaper Boy Foundation; judge for the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, 1984. The 2009 Milton Caniff “Spirit of Flight;” the George P. Haddaway Award; Frontiers of Flight, Dallas; NASA Ambassador of Exploration Award; listed in Who's Who in America, The World, Aviation and other similar publications.

PUBLICATIONS: "Importance of the Observation that Stars Don't Twinkle Outside the Earth's Atmosphere" (with L. Marshall Libby); The All-American Boys (Macmillan, 1977); numerous articles for various magazines, technical journals and newspapers.

EXPERIENCE: Cunningham enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and began his flight training in 1952. In 1953, he took his commission as a 2nd Lt and served on active duty with the United States Marine Corps (USMC), flying 54 missions as a night fighter pilot in Korea. From 1956 through 1975, he served in USMC reserve squadrons. His present rank is Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (retired). He worked as a scientist for the Rand Corporation for three years prior to joining NASA. While with Rand, he worked on classified defense studies and problems of the Earth's magnetosphere. He has accumulated more than 4,500 hours of flying time in 40 different aircraft, including more than 3,400 in jet aircraft and 263 hours in space.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in 1963, Cunningham was a member of NASA’s third astronaut class. Prior to his assignment to the Apollo 7 crew, Cunningham was on the prime crew for Apollo 2 until it was cancelled and the backup Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 1. On October 11, 1968, Cunningham piloted the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7, the first manned flight test of the third generation U.S. spacecraft. With Walter M. Schirra, Jr. and Donn F. Eisele, Cunningham participated and executed maneuvers enabling the crew to perform exercises in transposition and docking and lunar orbit rendezvous with the S-IVB stage of their Saturn IB launch vehicle; completed eight successful test and maneuvering ignitions of the service module propulsion engine; measured the accuracy of performance of all spacecraft systems; and provided the first live television transmission of onboard crew activities. The 263-hour, 4.5 million mile flight was successfully concluded on October 22, 1968, with splashdown occurring in the Atlantic. Apollo 7 established a world record for greatest mass lifted into orbit and remains the longest, most successful first test flight of any new flying machine. Cunningham's last assignment at NASA’s Johnson Space Center was Chief of the Skylab branch of the Flight Crew Directorate. In this capacity, he was responsible for the operational inputs for five major pieces of manned space hardware, two different launch vehicles and 56 major onboard experiments that comprised the Skylab program

1998 - Present: Radio talk show host, Lift-off to Logic; consultant to start-up technology companies and a commercial space company; chairman, Texas Aerospace Commission; keynote speaker and writer.

1986 - 1999: The Genesis Fund; organizer and managing general partner. The Genesis Fund was a $19.5 million venture capital pool, which made equity investments in early stage, technology oriented companies.

1979 - 1987: The Capital Group; founder. A private investment firm catering to the particular needs of non-resident investors. The firm engaged in venture capital activities, addressing the financial needs of start-up and development stage companies and the acquisition of investment property. Served as director of numerous companies and financial institutions

1972 - 1999: Investor and Entrepreneur. Residential and commercial real estate investor. Initiated a small business start-up with $1,000, which achieved revenues in excess of $1,300,000. Organizer of two national bank charters and outside, professional director of several technology companies.

1976 - 1979: 3D International; senior vice president, director. Directed the engineering division of this international architectural, engineering, and project management firm, with extensive operations in the Middle East. Effected a successful turn-around through modern management techniques.

1974 - 1976: Hydrotech Development Company; president. A high technology offshore engineering company, manufacturing a proprietary line of sub-sea pipeline connectors. Managed the preliminary design of an unmanned, remotely operated, pipeline repair system for use at water depths of 4,000 feet.

1971 - 1974: Century Development Corporation; senior vice president. Responsible for the operation of 5,000,000 square feet of commercial properties and service companies furnishing maintenance, parking and security services.

1968 - 1971: NASA/Chief, Skylab branch of the Astronaut Office. Coordinated the operational development, system integration and habitability of all Skylab space station hardware (included five manned modules, two launch vehicles and 56 major experiments). Skylab was the first manned space application of photo-voltaic electric power, inertial storage devices for attitude control and molecular sieves for environmental control.

1963 - 1971: NASA; astronaut. Pilot on the first manned mission of the Apollo Program (Apollo 7). Played a key role in all aspects of manned space flight including training, planning, systems design, testing operational support, space flight, analysis of results, public relations, and program management.

1960 - 1963: The Research and Development (RAND) Corporation; physicist. Performed studies of the Earth's magnetosphere and classified projects for the Department of Defense.
1951 - 1976: U.S. Marine Corps; retired colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, with 4,500 hours pilot time, including 263 hours in space.

JULY 2014

This is the only version available from NASA. Updates must be sought from the above named individual.

Official Biography

NAME: Walter Cunningham

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Cunningham was born in Creston, Iowa, on March 16, 1932.

EDUCATION: Cunningham received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in physics in 1960 and a Master of Arts degree in physics in 1961 from the University of California at Los Angeles. He attended the Advanced Management Program, Harvard School of Business, in 1974.

EXPERIENCE: Cunningham joined the Navy in 1951 and began flight training in 1952. He joined a Marine squadron in 1953 and served with the Marine Corps until 1956 and in the Marine Corps Reserve until 1975. He held the rank of Colonel, USMC (retired). After receiving his MS degree from UCLA, Cunningham worked as a scientist with the RAND Corporation.

NASA selected him as an astronaut in October 1963. On October 11, 1968, he, Commander Walter Schirra and Command Module pilot Don Eisele were launched aboard Apollo 7 - the first flight test of the redesigned Apollo after the first crew died in the Apollo 1 launch pad fire on January 27, 1967. The flight was a complete success and provided NASA with confidence to send the next Apollo crew, into orbit around the moon. However the crew suffered head colds and had numerous arguments with ground controllers. NASA management secretly decided that none of them would be allowed to fly in space again.

Cunningham retired from NASA in 1971 and published a book of his experiences as an astronaut, The All-American Boys. He later was president of Acorn Ventures.

More at: Cunningham.

Family: Astronaut
Country: USA
Flights: Apollo 204, Apollo 205, Apollo 7
Projects: Apollo
Agency: USMC
Bibliography: 4478, 5299

Photo Gallery

Apollo 7
Astronaut Walter Cunningham photographed performing flight tasks
Credit: NASA
Apollo 7
Prime crew photographed during Apollo 7 mission
Credit: NASA

Chronology

11 events

1932 March 16

Birth of Ronnie Walter 'Walt' Cunningham - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Cunningham. American pilot astronaut 1963-1971. 1 spaceflight, 10.8 days in space. Flew to orbit on Apollo 7 (1968)..

1963 June 5

10 to 15 new astronauts to begin training in October - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton. Program: Apollo.
NASA announced that it would select 10 to 15 new astronauts to begin training in October. Civilian applications were due July 1; those from military personnel, prescreened by their services, were due July 15. New selection criteria reduced the maximum age to 35 years and eliminated the requirement for test pilot certifications.

1963 October 17

NASA Astronaut Training Group 3 selected. - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton.
The group was selected to provide crew members for planned Apollo missions (then planned as 4 Saturn I missions in 1965, 2-4 Saturn IB missions in 1966, 6 Saturn V missions from 1967).. Qualifications: Qualified jet pilot with minimum 1,000 flight-hours, bachleor's degree in engineering or physical or biological sciences, under 35 years old, under 183 cm height, excellent health. US citizen.. There were 271 applications, 200 from civilians (including two women) and 71 from military pilots (including two African-Americans). President Kennedy pushed for NASA to appoint a black astronaut, but neither of the applicants met the test pilot requirements. Bobby Kennedy arranged for one of these, USAF Captain Edward Dwight, to be enrolled in the USAF Test Pilot school. He graduated, and then had the necessary qualifications. He was 28 years old, an engineering school graduate, and a B-57 bomber command pilot with 2,000 hours flying time. However NASA did not find him as well qualified as other candidates, and he was not among the 32 chosen for final physical and mental tests.
From these 32, the final 14 were selected. Of them, four would die (two in a T-38 crash, one in a car crash, and one in the Apollo 204 ground fire) before flying in space. All of the ten remaining would fly in the Apollo program.

1963 October 18

Selection of 14 astronauts for Projects Gemini and Apollo - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: Gemini.
NASA announced the selection of 14 astronauts for Projects Gemini and Apollo, bringing to 30 the total number of American spacemen. They were Maj. Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., Capt. William A. Anders, Capt. Charles A. Bassett II, Capt. Michael Collins, Capt. Donn F. Eisele, Capt. Theodore C. Freeman, and Capt. David R. Scott of the Air Force; Lt. Cdr. Richard F. Gordon, Jr., Lt. Alan L. Bean, Lt. Eugene A. Cernan, and Lt. Roger B. Chaffee of the Navy; Capt. Clifton C. Williams, Jr., of the Marine Corps; R. Walter Cunningham, research scientist for the Rand Corporation; and Russell L. Schweickart, research scientist for MIT.

1964 February 3

Fourteen new astronauts reported for training - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: Gemini. Fourteen new astronauts, chosen in October 1963, reported at MSC for training for the Gemini and Apollo programs..

1965 February 16

Specialty areas for 13 astronauts not assigned to Gemini - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: Apollo LM, CSM ECS, LM Communications, LM ECS, LM Guidance.
MSC announced a realignment of specialty areas for the 13 astronauts not assigned to forthcoming Gemini missions (GT 3 through 5) or to strictly administrative positions:

Operations and Training
Edwin E. Aldrin, branch chief - mission planning
Charles A. Bassett - operations handbooks, training, and simulators
Alan L. Bean - recovery systems
Michael Collins - pressure suits and extravehicular activity
David R. Scott - mission planning and guidance and navigation
Clifton C. Williams - range operations, deep space instrumentation, and crew safety.
Project Apollo
Richard F. Gordon, branch chief - overall astronaut activities in Apollo area and liaison for CSM development
Donn F. Eisele - CSM and LEM
William A. Anders - environmental control system and radiation and thermal systems
Eugene A. Cernan - boosters, spacecraft propulsion, and the Agena stage
Roger B. Chaffee - communications, flight controls, and docking
R. Walter Cunningham - electrical and sequential systems and non-flight experiments
Russell L. Schweickart - in-flight experiments and future programs.

1966 September 29

Second planned manned Apollo flight crew was named by NASA - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Borman, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Schirra, Stafford. Program: Apollo.
The second planned manned Apollo flight crew was named by NASA. Prime crew members were Walter M. Schirra, Jr., command pilot; Donn F. Eisele, senior pilot; and R. Walter Cunningham, pilot. Backup crewmen were Frank Borman, command pilot; Thomas P. Stafford, senior pilot; and Michael Collins, pilot. The flight was scheduled for 1967. It would be the first space mission for Eisele and Cunningham.
The second manned Apollo mission was planned as an open-ended earth orbital mission up to 14 days. Increased emphasis on scientific experiments as well as repeating some activities from the first planned manned flight would characterize the mission. (The first planned manned Apollo mission was ended by a tragic accident during a test January 27, 1967.)

1967 January 27

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral. LV Family: Saturn I. Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB.

Apollo 204 - . Call Sign: Apollo 1. Crew: Chaffee, Grissom, White. Backup Crew: Cunningham, Eisele, McDivitt, Schirra, Schweickart, Scott. Payload: CSM-012. Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 204. Spacecraft: Apollo CSM, Apollo Lunar Landing, CSM ECS, CSM Electrical.
The first manned flight of the Apollo CSM, the Apollo C category mission, was planned for the last quarter of 1966. Numerous problems with the Apollo Block I spacecraft resulted in a flight delay to February 1967. The crew of Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee, was killed in a fire while testing their capsule on the pad on 27 January 1967, still weeks away from launch. The designation AS-204 was used by NASA for the flight at the time; the designation Apollo 1 was applied retroactively at the request of Grissom's widow.

1967 April

Apollo 205 (cancelled) - . Crew: Cunningham, Eisele, Schirra. Backup Crew: Borman, Collins, Stafford. Payload: CSM-014. Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 205. Spacecraft: Apollo CSM.
It was originally planned to make a second solo flight test of the Block I Apollo CSM on a Saturn IB. The flight was finally seen as unnecessary; the decision to cancel it came on November 16, 1966. After the Apollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967, the Schirra crew was assigned to Apollo 7, the first manned flight test of the new Block II Apollo CSM-101.

1968 October 11

15:02 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC34. LV Family: Saturn I. Launch Vehicle: Saturn IB.

Apollo 7 - . Call Sign: Apollo 7. Crew: Cunningham, Eisele, Schirra. Backup Crew: Cernan, Stafford, Young. Payload: Apollo CSM 101 / S-IVB-205. Mass: 14,674 kg (32,350 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: Apollo. Class: Moon. Type: Manned lunar spacecraft. Flight: Apollo 7. Spacecraft: Apollo CSM. Duration: 10.84 days. Decay Date: 1968-10-22 . USAF Sat Cat: 3486 . COSPAR: 1968-089A. Apogee: 306 km (190 mi). Perigee: 229 km (142 mi). Inclination: 31.60 deg. Period: 89.90 min.
Apollo 7 (AS-205), the first manned Apollo flight, lifted off from Launch Complex 34 at Cape Kennedy Oct. 11, carrying Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham. The countdown had proceeded smoothly, with only a slight delay because of additional time required to chill the hydrogen system in the S-IVB stage of the Saturn launch vehicle. Liftoff came at 11:03 a.m. EDT. Shortly after insertion into orbit, the S-IVB stage separated from the CSM, and Schirra and his crew performed a simulated docking with the S-IVB stage, maneuvering to within 1.2 meters of the rocket. Although spacecraft separation was normal, the crew reported that one adapter panel had not fully deployed. Two burns using the reaction control system separated the spacecraft and launch stage and set the stage for an orbital rendezvous maneuver, which the crew made on the second day of the flight, using the service propulsion engine.
Crew and spacecraft performed well throughout the mission. During eight burns of the service propulsion system during the flight, the engine functioned normally. October 14, third day of the mission, witnessed the first live television broadcast from a manned American spacecraft.

1968 October 22

Landing of Apollo 7 - . Return Crew: Cunningham, Eisele, Schirra. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Cunningham, Eisele, Schirra. Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 7.
The SPS engine was used to deorbit after 259 hours 39 minutes of flight. CM-SM separation and operation of the earth landing system were normal, and the spacecraft splashed down about 13 kilometers from the recovery ship (27.32 N 64.04 W), the U.S.S. Essex at 11:11 GMT. Although the vehicle initially settled in an apex-down ("stable 2") attitude, upright bags functioned normally and returned the CSM to an upright position in the water. Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham were quickly picked up by a recovery helicopter and were safe aboard the recovery vessel less than an hour after splashdown.
All primary Apollo 7 mission objectives were met, as well as every detailed test objective (and three test objectives not originally planned). Engineering firsts from Apollo 7, aside from live television from space, included drinking water for the crew produced as a by-product of the fuel cells. Piloting and navigation accomplishments included an optical rendezvous, daylight platform realignment, and orbital determination via sextant tracking of another vehicle. All spacecraft systems performed satisfactorily. Minor anomalies were countered by backup systems or changes in procedures. With successful completion of the Apollo 7 mission, which proved out the design of the Block II CSM (CSM 101), NASA and the nation had taken the first step on the pathway to the moon.
Although the systems worked, the crew became grumpy with head colds and talked back to the ground. As a result, NASA management determined that none of them would fly again. Apollo 7 landed at 07:12 GMT.