Walter Cunningham, Houston astronaut parade, August 1969. Footage of NASA astronaut Walter Cunningham (born 1932) and his family being driven by car at the Houston astronaut parade of 16 August 1969 in Houston, Texas, USA. Cunningham was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1963. At the time of this footage, he had flown in space on the Apollo 7 mission in October 1968, his first and last mission. Also in the car are his wife Loella and their children Brian and Kimberly. This parade was held to honour the Apollo 11 astronauts, but also featured other NASA astronauts. The Apollo 11 crew had achieved the first landing by humans on the Moon on 20 July 1969. Houston is the home of NASA's mission control, the Manned Spacecraft Centre (MSC), and this was among the first parades held in their honour. It featured numerous marching groups, with around 300, 000 people lining the streets. A ticker tape parade was held along the downtown Houston section of the route. |