Space Pioneer Dies at 84

A space pioneer is dead today. One of the original Mercury 7 astronauts who flew NASA's very first flights to space, has passed away at age 84. Wally Schirra died Thursday morning of natural causes, his family has said. It is rumored that Schirra was ill for several weeks before his death.

Schirra is the only astronaut to have flown on Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo missions. He also took part in the first flight after the Apollo 1 tragedy in January of 1967, in which three astronauts perished in a fire during a launchpad practice. Apollo 7, flown in October 1968, was a ten-day test flight for equipment and procedures which would be used on later flights to the moon.

Schirra joined NASA in April of 1959, fresh from a Navy test pilot job. Schirra's Mercury 7 mission team also included: Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Deke Slayton, Alan Shepherd, Gus Grissom, and Scott Carpenter. The astronauts were elevated to celebrity status by NASA in the space agency's competition with the Soviet Union in the space race.

Carpenter and Glenn are now the only surviving members of the Mercury 7 mission.

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