Schirra - prepares for mission simulator tests in 1968 at the North American Aviation plant. The crew for NASA's first Apollo manned flight - (from left) Cunningham, Donn F. During an interview with NASA’s Oral History Office in 1999, he reflected on his career path and motivations. It was also notable for featuring in the first live TV broadcast of Americans from space, according to NASA.Ĭunningham was the last surviving member of the Apollo 7 crew, which also included astronauts Wally Schirra and Donn Eisele.īorn in Creston, Iowa, and a recipient of an honors bachelor’s degree in physics and a masters with distinction in physics from the University of California at Los Angeles, Cunningham was 36 years old when the Apollo 7 mission launched. The Apollo 7 mission launched in 1968 and lasted roughly 11 days, sending the crew on a journey into orbit that amounted to a test flight that could demonstrate the Apollo capsule’s ability to rendezvous with another spacecraft in orbit and pave the way for future exploration deeper into space. The pens have been used on every NASA human spaceflight mission since. Cunningham writes with a Fisher Space Pen during the flight of Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo flight and the Space Pen's first trip to space.