"Former astronaut Walter Cunningham, who flew into space on Apollo 7, the first flight with crew in NASA’s Apollo Program, died early Tuesday morning in Houston. He was 90 years old," NASA said in the release on Tuesday.
Cunningham piloted the 11-day Apollo 7 mission in October 1968, marking the first human flight test of the Apollo spacecraft, according to the release.
In 1963, Cunningham was selected to be part of NASA's third astronaut class, the release said.
Cunningham was also a fighter pilot, physicist, and an entrepreneur, the release noted.