Apollo Program · First crewed Apollo flight (Earth orbit)
Apollo 7
- Launch
- 1968-10-11 15:02 UTC
- Return
- 1968-10-22 11:11 UTC
- Duration
- 10 days 20 hours 09 minutes
Mission summary
Apollo 7 was the first crewed Apollo flight, an 11-day Earth-orbital shakedown of the redesigned Block II Command and Service Module 21 months after the Apollo 1 fire. Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walt Cunningham exercised every CSM system, completed eight SPS engine firings, and conducted the first live television broadcast from a US crewed spacecraft. All three crew developed head colds during the flight, leading to a famously tense exchange with Mission Control over re-entry helmet policy. None of the three flew again.
Crew
| Astronaut | Prior missions | Subsequent missions |
|---|---|---|
|
Walter M. Schirra Jr. Commander |
Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7), Gemini 6A | None — final flight; only astronaut to fly Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo |
|
Donn F. Eisele Command Module Pilot |
None (first flight) | None |
|
R. Walter Cunningham Lunar Module Pilot (no LM aboard) |
None (first flight) | None |
Launch vehicle
Saturn IB SA-205
Objectives
- First crewed flight of the Block II Command and Service Module.
- Earth-orbital shakedown of CSM systems over an extended (~11 day) flight.
- First live television broadcast from a US crewed spacecraft.
- Verify SPS engine restart capability under crewed conditions (eight firings completed).
Milestones
| When | Event |
|---|---|
| 1968-10-11 15:02 UTC |
Launched from Cape Kennedy LC-34 — the last crewed launch from that pad.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo7.html |
| 1968-10-14 | First live television broadcast from a US crewed spacecraft. |
| 1968-10-11 to 1968-10-22 | Eight SPS engine firings completed across the flight, all successful. |
| 1968-10-22 11:11 UTC | Splashed down in the Atlantic; recovered by USS Essex. |
Primary sources
Last updated 2026-05-09 15:17 UTC.