Apollo 7 lifted off from Cape Kennedy carrying astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham on the first crewed flight of the Apollo program, following the deadly 1967 launchpad fire that killed three astronauts. Over eleven days in Earth orbit, the crew tested the redesigned command module's systems, clearing the path for the lunar missions that followed within the year.
NASA had spent nearly two years grounded and grieving after a flash fire inside the Apollo 1 capsule killed Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee during a routine test. Every system on the command module was redesigned, from wiring insulation to the hatch, which now could be opened in seconds rather than minutes.
Apollo 7's crew, led by prickly veteran Wally Schirra, grew increasingly irritable during the flight, largely thanks to head colds that made every maneuver miserable in weightlessness, and their testy exchanges with mission control became legendary among NASA insiders. Schirra even refused to wear his helmet during reentry, worried the pressure changes would rupture his eardrums.
Despite the friction, the mission was a technical triumph: all major systems performed, including the first live television broadcast from an American spacecraft. The success gave NASA the confidence to attempt a lunar orbital mission just two months later with Apollo 8, keeping alive the audacious promise to land astronauts on the Moon before the decade's end.
Key people: Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, Walter Cunningham