Picture of Apollo 7 spacecraft
NASA
Apollo 7
The Apollo 7 mission was launched on Oct. 11, 1968, carrying astronauts Walter Schirra, Jr., Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham on board. It was a success, giving NASA and the Apollo space program much confidence following the Apollo 1 disaster.
Apollo 7 spent eleven days in orbit around Earth, proving that its command module would last long enough to make a trip to the Moon possible. Although the astronauts all developed unpleasant colds, and complained about food, they were able to gain valuable knowledge useful in future space exploration.
Apollo 7 also returned the first live television pictures from space. It earned public and government support for a mission to the Moon, accomplished by the Apollo 8 mission, only months later.
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