His career at NASA began with he was selected as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts in 1959. Schirra flew on the fifth Mercury flight in 1962, orbiting the Earth six times. He commanded Gemini 6A in 1965, a flight with Tom Stafford that had the historic distinction of being the first rendezvous of two manned, maneuverable spacecraft. Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 flew in formation for five hours, as close as one foot to one another.

The Apollo 7 mission also was the first to transmit live images to US television networks.

"With the passing of Wally Schirra, we at NASA note with sorrow the loss of yet another of the pioneers of human spaceflight," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said. "As a Mercury astronaut, Wally was of a member of the first group of astronauts to be selected, often referred to as the Original Seven."

Schirra retired and went to work for CBS in 1969, teaming up with legendary newsman Walter Cronkite in coverage of space before going on to found his own consulting firm.