Ronnie Walter Cunningham (born March 16, 1932) is a retired American astronaut. In 1968, he was a

lunar module pilot Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

on the Apollo 7 mission. He was NASA's third civilian astronaut (after Neil Armstrong and

Elliot See Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) was an American engineer, naval aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut. See received an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1945. He graduated in 1949 with ...

), and has also been a fighter pilot,

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, entrepreneur,

venture capitalist Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

, and author of the 1977 book ''The All-American Boys''. Following the deaths of Donn F. Eisele in 1987 and

Wally Schirra Walter Marty Schirra Jr. (, March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007) was an American naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. In 1959, he became one of the original seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury, which was the United States' f ...

in 2007, Cunningham is the last surviving crew member of Apollo 7.

Biography

Early life, education and military career

Cunningham was born in

Creston, Iowa Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa. The population was 7,536 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Creston was originally settled in 1868 as a survey camp for the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. It was name ...

, on March 16, 1932. He graduated from Venice High School in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, in 1950. After graduating from high school, Cunningham studied at

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high sc ...

,Famous SMC Alumni Set Forth a Path of Excellence to Follow
/ref> until he joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1951, and began flight training in 1952. He served on

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be o ...

as a fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1953 until 1956, flying 54 missions as a night fighter pilot in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Armistice discussions were still on-going when Cunningham initially left for Korea, and the

Korean Armistice Agreement The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전협정; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an armistice that brought about a complete cessation of hostilities of the Korean War. It was signed by United Sta ...

was signed just before he arrived. From 1956 to 1975, he served in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

, ultimately retiring at the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. Cunningham married the former Lo Ella Irby of

Norwalk, California Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 105,549 at the 2010 census and an estimated 103,949 in 2019. It is the 58th most densely-populated city in California. Founded in the late 19th century, Nor ...

, and had two children, Brian and Kimberley. Walter and Lo Ella were eventually divorced. Following his active duty, Cunningham resumed his studies at Santa Monica College, before transferring to the UCLA in 1958. Cunningham received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree with honors in 1960, and his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree with distinction in 1961, both in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

. He completed all requirements save for the dissertation for a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in physics at UCLA during his time at RAND Corporation, where he spent three years prior to his NASA selection. Apollo 7 Cunningham

NASA career

In October 1963, Cunningham was one of the third group of astronauts selected by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

. On October 11, 1968, he occupied the Lunar Module Pilot seat for the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7, the first launch of a crewed Apollo mission. The flight carried no Lunar Module and Cunningham was responsible for all spacecraft systems except launch and navigation. The crew kept busy with myriad system tests and successfully completed test firing of the service-module-engine ignition and measuring the accuracy of the spacecraft systems. Schirra, with a cold, ran afoul of NASA management during the flight, but Cunningham went on to head up the Skylab Branch of the Astronaut Office and left NASA in 1971. Cunningham has accumulated more than 4,500 hours of flying time, including more than 3,400 in jet aircraft and 263 hours in

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

Post-NASA career

In 1974, Cunningham attended Harvard Business School's six-week Advanced Management Program and later worked as a businessman and investor in a number of private ventures. In 1977, he published ''The All-American Boys'', a reminiscence of his astronaut days. He was also a major contributor and foreword-writer for the 2007 space history book '' In the Shadow of the Moon''. 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. In 2008, NASA awarded Cunningham the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his Apollo 7 mission. He is currently a radio talk show host and public speaker. Cunningham also works as a consultant to start-up technology companies and is chairman of the Texas Aerospace Commission.

Global warming views

Cunningham rejects the current mainstream opinion regarding anthropogenic global warming (AGW). In 2010, he published a discussion paper titled "''Global Warming: Facts versus Faith''". In an editorial published in the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' on August 15, 2010, Cunningham argued that the empirical evidence does not support the claims of global warming.

Organizations

Cunningham belongs to many organizations. He is an associate

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

, fellow of the

American Astronautical Society Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and space exploration. AAS supports NASA The National Aerona ...

, member of the

Society of Experimental Test Pilots The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggest ...

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

, Sigma Pi Sigma and

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

Association of Space Explorers The Association of Space Explorers is a non-profit organization with a membership composed of people who have completed at least one Earth orbit in space (above , as defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. It was founded in 1985, ...

, Houston American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, Aviation Subcommittee, Houston Chamber of Commerce, Earth Awareness Foundation, National Association of Small Business Investment Companies.

Awards and honors

Cunningham is a recipient of numerous national and international honors, including: * NASA Distinguished Service Medal *

NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, ae ...

AIAA The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...

Haley Astronautics Award, 1969 *UCLA Professional Achievement Award, 1969 *Special Trustees Award, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ( Emmy Award), 1969 *

Medal of Valor This list of medals for bravery is an index to articles about notable medals awarded for bravery or valor. These medals, usually associated with military forces, police forces, or other public safety entities, are given to personnel who have serv ...

, American Legion, 1975 *Outstanding American Award,

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...

, 1975 *Listed in '' Who's Who'' *George Haddaway Award, 2000 *

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Hall of Fame * International Space Hall of Fame, inducted in 1983 * U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 *

Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame The Iowa Aviation Museum is located at the Greenfield Municipal Airport in Greenfield, Iowa, and is dedicated to preserving Iowa's aviation heritage. The Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame, located at the museum, honors Iowans who have contributed signif ...

, inducted in 2003 *

International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Si ...

San Diego Air and Space Museum San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...

, inducted in 2011.

References

External links

Official website of Walter Cunningham

Interview with Walter Cunningham for NOVA series: To the Moon
WGBH Educational Foundation, raw footage, 1998

*

Walt Cunningham on The George Jarkesy Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Walter 1932 births Living people People from Creston, Iowa Military personnel from Iowa 1968 in spaceflight Apollo 7 21st-century American physicists American investors Aviators from Iowa Santa Monica College alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal United States Marine Corps officers NASA people Emmy Award winners NASA civilian astronauts Apollo program astronauts 20th-century American businesspeople Venice High School (Los Angeles) alumni