James Lileks has, I think, the best obit I’ve seen today.

Think of it: we shot two rockets into orbit, and one of them – guided by men and an onboard computer that probably had less computational power than your cellphone – found the other, drew alongside, and flew in formation for a while. When I was a kid I was space-crazy (still am, really) but I always thought the Lunar Excursion Model was somewhat unlovable – those black empty eyes, those insect legs. The Gemini capsule was iconic, though, and Shirra was one of the men who drove it up and drove it down.

One by one they go, and we’re the lesser for their loss. There’s courage. And then there’s this.

When you can’t beat em, blockquote ’em. You’ll be missed, Wally Schirra.

Cross posted to Space For Commerce.