Date: October 11-22, 1968 (10 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes, 3 seconds)
Crew: Walter M. “Wally” Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter “Walt” Cunningham
Mission Highlights: Apollo 7 was the first flown crew mission of the new Apollo program, and the first manned American spaceflight in nearly two years (since Gemini 12 in November 1966). Having served as the second backup crew for Apollo 1, Wally, Donn, and Walt were reassigned to the prime crew of Apollo after the fire. The fire led to a nearly two-year delay as NASA performed investigations into its cause and implemented extensive redesigns to nearly every aspect of Apollo.
The newly redesigned mission was ready for launch by October 1968, its primary objective being to test the capabilities of the CSM (Command/Service Module) in low earth orbit. Wally and Deke managed to bring Guenter Wendt back on as pad leader, and he remained the pad leader for the rest of Apollo. The flight launched on October 11, the first crewed launch of the Saturn 1B. The mission was “open-ended,” meaning its duration depended on the success of the tests the crew was to perform. These included a simulated rendezvous and docking with a lunar module (LM) and testing new control systems like propulsion and guidance hardware. While Apollo 7 experienced a few minor technical difficulties, one of the most important components, the SM engines, absolutely critical to a lunar mission, fired without issue. They delivered the first live broadcast from a manned American spaceflight in history on the third day of the mission.
Perhaps the mission’s biggest problem were the tensions between the crew and mission control. Throughout the flight, from launch to reentry, Wally, Walt, and Whatshisname found themselves at odds with directions from the ground. The larger cabin caused motion sickness that earlier crews had not experienced, and both the food rations and waste collection system were unsatisfactory to the astronauts. The worst came when Wally got a serious head cold, followed by the rest of his crew. The excess pressure and irritability led to minor scuffles with CAPCOMs.
Shortly before reentry, the crew decided they would not wear their helmets in order to prevent pressure from their colds from building up and potentially bursting their eardrums. NASA was strongly against this decision, as reentry and landing had never been tried sans helmets before. Wally and Deke had a tense exchange, but the crew ultimately took decongestants and descended safely without their helmets. They were recovered in the Atlantic by the USS Essex on October 22.
Significance: NASA considered the first manned flight of the Apollo Project a resounding success, at least on a technical level. The mission met all major objectives. All critical systems worked almost without issue, and the mission lasted 11 days, longer than a lunar mission would require.
The so-called “mini-mutiny” had consequences for the crew, as none of them would fly for NASA again (Wally already planned on retiring, but Walt and Donn were rejected from future Apollo flights). However, they (much) later received the Distinguished Service Medal for their mission, and the tests performed by Apollo 7 paved the way for the first manned flight to the moon just two months later.
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