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Astronaut Walter Schirra Has Died

Walter (Wally) Schirra, one of the first seven original astronauts, has passed away from cancer at the age of 84. He was the only one to fly Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions.

"It was impossible to know Wally, even to meet him, without realizing at once that he was a man who relished the lighter side of life, the puns and jokes and pranks that can enliven a gathering," said NASA Administrator Mike Griffin in an e-mail to his agency's employees. "But this was a distraction from the true nature of the man. His record as a pioneering space pilot shows the real stuff of which he was made."

Original Astronaut Wally Schirra Dies at 84

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