The document featured here is page 8 from a January 17, 1967 memorandum sent to the NASA Langley Research Center summarizing all Project Gemini Missions and their accomplishments. The page features astronaut Wally Schirra who commanded the Gemini 6A mission and would later command the Apollo 7 mission which is commemorated here today.
October 11 marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 7 space mission. The mission was historic for several reasons: 1) it was the first time NASA sent three astronauts: Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham into space; 2) Wally Schirra became the first person ever to fly into space three times while using three different spacecraft (Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo); and 3) it was also the first manned spaceflight using the re-designed Apollo command module flying atop the Saturn 1B rocket.
This was NASA’s first manned space mission since Gemini 12 was launched in November 1966. The reason for the delay was due to the aftermath of the Apollo 1 fire which killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chafee inside their command module in late January 1967. The fire resulted in a massive redesign of the command module to enhance astronaut safety and reduce fire hazards.
The Apollo 7 mission lasted from October 11 to October 22 and was almost completely successful. The only setback was a failed attempt by the Apollo 7 command module to dock with a target on the S-IVB booster. One of the adapter panels on the S-IVB failed to retract properly which led to the docking attempt being scrubbed. All other Apollo systems worked perfectly.
Today’s post was written by Matthew DiBiase, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at Philadelphia.
Citation: Project Correspondence, Folder Gemini 1967, Box 38; Record Group 255-Records of NASA Langley Research Center; National Archives at Philadelphia, PA. NAID 1518872
