On October 22nd, 1968 the Apollo 7 command module carrying Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, bringing an end to the first manned Apollo mission, and bringing confidence back to the nations space program, and our efforts to make it to the Moon before the end of the 1960’s.
The Apollo 7 Crew. Command Module pilot, Don F. Eisele, Commander, Walter M. Schirra Jr., and Lunar Module pilot, Walter Cunningham.
Apollo 7 was flown as the mission Apollo 1 never got to make – to test the Apollo Command and Service modules over a period of time matching a modest flight to the Moon, and stressing the equipment more than should be necessary for a mission.
SEE MORE: 50 Years Ago: The Launch Of Apollo 7
This included multiple burns of the Service Propulsion System, the main engine that Apollo would use to enter and leave Lunar orbit. The engine proved itself over far more burns than would be necessary for a mission, providing confidence in the decision to make a flight towards the Moon in an upcoming mission. The Apollo command module proved itself, as well, providing ample space (compared to Mercury and Gemini) for the crew to work, eat, sleep, and live in while in orbit. The systems in the Service Module as well performed mostly flawlessly – there were some issues which would need to be resolved before later flights, but nothing that would halt progress. The new Block II Apollo Command / Service Module system was incredible, with the improvements made after the fire proving themselves over the nearly 2 week long mission.
The launch of Apollo 7, which flew the mission intended for Apollo 1.
As an aside, the crew was so confident that the new vehicle was safe, they wanted to nickname it “Phoenix” as in, the phoenix rising from the ashes of a previous fire, in reference to the disaster of Apollo 1. As you can imagine, NASA outright said no to this for pretty obvious reasons. At least, that’s how the story goes.
The Apollo 7 S-IVB with the one “stuck” SLA panel (on the right.) The central area is where a Lunar Module would go on future flights.
The Saturn IB launch vehicle as well proved fine for human flights, but one issue was found once reaching orbit – the upper stage of the vehicle, the S-IVB, which would be used on the Saturn V as well, did not have full deployment of the SLA panels which would hold on Moonbound flights the Lunar Module. While the stuck panel would eventually fully deploy, it was decided in future missions that these panels would fully separate from the S-IVB, providing full clearance for the Apollo spacecraft to dock and extract the Lunar Module safely.
The Apollo 7 S-IVB with open SLA panels.
There was one other major issue with the mission, but not as a result of hardware – the crew themselves. Schirra began showing symptoms of a cold while on orbit which spread to the other members of the crew causing them all to become quite irritable. Minor issues of motion sickness and some frustration with the waste collection system and frustration with the pace of the events schedule eventually resulted in the crew becoming quite confrontational with mission control. This even leads to them not wanting to put their helmets on during re-entry, a standard safety procedure, for fear of burst eardrums due to the pressure differences they would experience.
Still, beyond the irritable crew (which never flew in space again) the mission was considered a complete success. At the time of Apollo 7’s flight the next mission, Apollo 8, was already on the pad at Launch Complex 39 (Apollo 7 having launched from LC-34) ready to send humans not only into space on the new, massive Saturn V, but to send them, for the first time, away from Earth.
Apollo 8 was ready to go to the Moon.
“101% successful!” When the Apollo 7 crew splashed down exactly fifty years ago today, their test flight not only passed with flying colors—it also paved the way for the future of lunar exploration. Celebrate the #Apollo50 anniversary and learn more: https://t.co/z4C7qCieML pic.twitter.com/nf0uSx3Boq
— NASA (@NASA) October 22, 2018
As always, check the below links for more information.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo7.html