Apollo 7
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| Mission Insignia | |
|---|---|
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| Mission Statistics | |
| Mission Name: | Apollo 7 |
| Call Sign: | Command module: Apollo 7 |
| Number of Crew: | 3 |
| Launch: | October 11, 1968 15:02:45 UTC Kennedy Space Center LC 34 |
| Apogee: | 297 km |
| Perigee: | 231 km |
| Period: | 89.78 m |
| Inclination: | 31.63 |
| Splashdown: | October 22, 1968 11:11:48 UTC 27° 38' N - 64° 09' W |
| Duration: | 10 d 20 h 9 min 3 s |
| Number of Orbits: | 163 |
| Mass: | CSM 14,781 kg |
| Crew Picture | |
 Apollo 7 crew portrait (L-R: Eisle, Schirra and Cunningham) | |
| Apollo 8 crew | |
Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the Apollo program to be launched. It was an eleven-day earth-orbital mission, the first manned launch of the Saturn IB launch vehicle, and the first three-man American space mission.
| Contents |
Crew
- Wally Schirra (flew on Mercury 8, Gemini 6A, & Apollo 7), commander
- Donn Eisele (flew on Apollo 7), command module pilot
- Walter Cunningham (flew on Apollo 7), lunar module pilot
This crew was originally the backup crew of the ill-fated Apollo 1.
Backup Crew
- Tom Stafford, commander
- John Young, command module pilot
- Gene Cernan, lunar module pilot
Support Crew
Mission Parameters
- Mass: 14,781 kg
- Perigee: 231 km
- Apogee: 297 km
- Inclination: 31.63°
- Period: 89.78 min
Rendezvous with spent S-IVB rocket stage
- October 12, 1968, 20:58:28 UTC
Stationkeeping with spent S-IVB rocket stage was performed for 25 minutes.
See also
Mission Highlights
Apollo 7 was a confidence-builder. After the January 1967 Apollo launch pad fire, the Apollo command module had been extensively redesigned. Schirra, the only astronaut to fly Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, commanded this Earth-orbital shakedown of the command and service modules. With no lunar lander, Apollo 7 could use the Saturn IB booster rather than the giant Saturn V. The Apollo hardware and all mission operations worked without any significant problems, and the Service Propulsion System (SPS) the all-important engine that would place Apollo in and out of lunar orbit-made eight nearly perfect firings. Even though Apollo's larger cabin was more comfortable than Gemini's, eleven days in orbit took its toll on the astronauts. The food was bad, and all three developed colds. But their mission proved the spaceworthiness of the basic Apollo vehicle.
Goals for the mission included the first live television broadcast from an American spacecraft (Gordon Cooper had broadcast slow scan television pictures from Faith 7 in 1963) and testing the lunar module docking maneuver. First orbit: Perigee 231 km, Apogee 297 km, Period 89.78 m, Inclination 31.63 deg. Weight: C/SM 14,781 kg. The splashdown point was 27 deg 32 min N, 64 deg 04 min W, 200 nautical miles SSW of Bermuda and 13 km (8 mi) north of the recovery ship USS Essex.
For nearly 30 years the Apollo 7 module was on loan (renewable every two years) to the National Museum of Science and Technology of Canada, in Ottawa, along with the space suit worn by Wally Schirra. In November 2003 the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. requested them back for display at their new annex at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
Mission details
- Launched: October 11, 1968 16:02:45 UT from Pad 34
- Returned: October 22, 1968 11:11:48 UT (retrieved by the USS Essex)
- Crew members: Wally Schirra (commander), Donn Eisele (senior pilot) and Walter Cunningham (pilot).
Reference
- NASA NSSDC Master Catalog (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/sc-query.html)
- APOLLO BY THE NUMBERS: A Statistical Reference by Richard W. Orloff (NASA) (http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_00a_Cover.htm)
Ap7-KSC-68PC-163.jpg
As7-3-1545.jpg
Apollo_7_Florida.jpg
External link
- NASA Apollo 7 Mission Report - Dec. 1, 1968 (PDF format) (http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19760072144_1976072144.pdf)
- Apollo 7 entry in Encyclopedia Astronautica (http://www.astronautix.com/flights/apollo7.htm)
- The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4009/cover.htm)
- Apollo Program Summary Report (http://history.nasa.gov/apsr/apsr.htm)
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