Editing Apollo 7 (section)

==Mission highlights==

The main purposes of the Apollo{{spaces}}7 flight were to show that the Block II CM would be habitable and reliable over the length of time required for a lunar mission, to show that the [[service propulsion system]] (SPS, the spacecraft's main engine) and the CM's guidance systems could perform a rendezvous in orbit, and later make a precision reentry and splashdown.<ref name = "fight" /> In addition, there were a number of specific objectives, including evaluating the communications systems and the accuracy of onboard systems such as the propellant tank gauges. Many of the activities aimed at gathering these data were scheduled for early in the mission, so that if the mission was terminated prematurely, they would already have been completed, allowing for fixes to be made prior to the next Apollo flight.{{sfn|Press Kit|p=6}}

===Launch and testing===

[[File:Apollo 7 Launch - GPN-2000-001171.jpg|thumb|upright|Apollo 7's liftoff]]

Apollo 7, the first crewed American space flight in 22 months, launched from Launch Complex 34 at 11:02:45{{spaces}}am [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]] (15:02:45{{spaces}}[[UTC]]) on Friday, October 11, 1968.<ref name = "launch" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo7.html |title=Apollo 7 |publisher=NASA |first=Jeanne |last=Ryba |date=July 8, 2009 |access-date=May 27, 2017}}</ref>

During the countdown, the wind was blowing in from the east. Launching under these weather conditions was in violation of safety rules, since in the event of a launch vehicle malfunction and abort, the CM might be blown back over land instead of making the usual water landing. Apollo{{spaces}}7 was equipped with the old Apollo{{spaces}}1-style crew couches, which provided less protection than later ones. Schirra later related that he felt the launch should have been scrubbed, but managers waived the rule and he yielded under pressure.<ref name = "fight">{{cite journal |url=https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/02_on2018-forgotten-apollo-7-mission-180970365/ |access-date=October 14, 2020|title=The Flight (and Fights) of Apollo 7 |journal=[[Air & Space Magazine]] |first=Tom |last=Jones |date=October 2018}}</ref>

Liftoff proceeded flawlessly; the Saturn IB performed well on its first crewed launch and there were no significant anomalies during the boost phase. The astronauts described it as very smooth.<ref name = "launch" /><ref name = "orbit">{{cite web|work=Apollo 7 Flight Journal|url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap07fj/a7_02_s-ivb-ops.html|title=Day 1, part 2: CSM/S-IVB orbital operations|date=April 2, 2018|access-date=October 15, 2020}}</ref> The ascent made the 45-year-old Schirra the oldest person to that point to enter space,<ref name = nyt1012 /> and, as it proved, the only astronaut to fly Mercury, [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] and Apollo missions.<ref name="Schirra's Obituary" />

Within the first three hours of flight, the astronauts performed two actions which simulated what would be required on a lunar mission. First, they maneuvered the craft with the S-IVB still attached, as would be required for [[Trans-lunar injection|the burn]] that would take lunar missions to the Moon. Then, after separation from the S-IVB, Schirra turned the CSM around and approached a docking target painted on the S-IVB, simulating the docking maneuver with the lunar module on Moon-bound missions prior to extracting the combined craft.<ref name = nyt1012 /> Cunningham reported that the hinged SLA panels on the S-IVB had not fully opened, which CAPCOM Tom Stafford likened to the "[[Agena Target Vehicle#Augmented Target Docking Adapter|angry alligator]]" from his [[Gemini 9A]] flight.<ref name="Astronautix">[http://www.astronautix.com/a/apollo7.html "Apollo 7"] at [[Encyclopedia Astronautica]]</ref> Partially open panels would have presented a collision hazard on flights with an LM, so on subsequent missions the SLA panels were jettisoned after the CSM had separated.<ref name="Astronautix"/>
After [[Orbital station-keeping|station keeping]] with the S-IVB for 20 minutes, Schirra let it drift away, putting {{convert|76|mi}} between the CSM and it in preparation for the following day's rendezvous attempt.<ref name="fight"/>
[[Image:AS07-3-1545.jpg|thumb|left|Apollo 7 S-IVB rocket stage in orbit]]

The astronauts also enjoyed a hot lunch, the first hot meal prepared on an American spacecraft.<ref name = nyt1012>{{cite news|last=Wilford|first=John Noble|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/10/12/76935378.html|pages=1, 20|title=3 on Apollo 7 circling Earth in 11-day test for moon trip|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 12, 1968}}</ref> Schirra had brought [[instant coffee]] along over the opposition of NASA doctors, who argued it added nothing nutritionally.{{sfn|Schirra 1988|pp=192–193}} Five hours after launch, he reported having, and enjoying, his first plastic bag full of coffee.<ref name = "coffee">{{cite web|work=Apollo 7 Flight Journal|url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap07fj/a7_04_day1.html|title=Day 1, part 4: Remainder (preliminary)|date=April 2, 2018|access-date=October 17, 2020}}</ref>

The purpose of the rendezvous was to demonstrate the CSM's ability to match orbits with and rescue a LM after an aborted lunar landing attempt, or following liftoff from the lunar surface.{{sfn|Press Kit|p=14}} This was to occur on the second day; but by the end of the first, Schirra had reported he had a [[Common cold|cold]], and, despite Slayton coming on the loop to argue in favor, declined Mission Control's request that the crew power up and test the onboard television camera prior to the rendezvous, citing the cold, that the crew had not eaten, and that there was already a very full schedule.<ref name="fight"/>

The rendezvous was complicated by the fact that the Apollo{{spaces}}7 spacecraft lacked a rendezvous radar, something the Moon-bound missions would have. The SPS, the engine that would be needed to send later Apollo CSMs into and out of lunar orbit, had been fired only on a test stand. Although the astronauts were confident it would work, they were concerned it might fire in an unexpected manner, necessitating an early end to the mission. The burns would be computed from the ground but the final work in maneuvering up to the S-IVB would require Eisele to use the telescope and [[sextant]] to compute the final burns, with Schirra applying the ship's [[reaction control system]] (RCS) thrusters. Eisele was startled by the violent jolt caused by activating the SPS. The thrust caused Schirra to yell, "Yabba dabba doo!" in reference to ''[[The Flintstones]]'' cartoon. Schirra eased the craft close to the S-IVB, which was tumbling out of control, successfully completing the rendezvous.<ref name="fight" />{{sfn|Eisele 2017|pp=63–68}}

[[File:Apollo 7 Cunningham.jpg|thumb|right|Cunningham during the mission]]
The first television broadcast took place on October 14. It began with a view of a card reading "From the Lovely Apollo Room high atop everything", recalling tag lines used by band leaders on 1930s radio broadcasts. Cunningham served as camera operator with Eisele as emcee. During the seven-minute broadcast, the crew showed off the spacecraft and gave the audience views of the southern United States. Before the close, Schirra held another sign, "Keep those cards and letters coming in folks", another old-time radio tag line that had been used recently by [[Dean Martin]].<ref name = nyt1015>{{cite news|last=Wilford|first=John Noble|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/10/15/archives/orbiting-apollo-craft-transmits-tv-show-u-s-audience-gets-a-view-of.html|pages=1, 44|title=Orbiting Apollo craft transmits TV show|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 15, 1968}}</ref> This was the first [[Apollo TV camera|live television]] [[broadcasting|broadcast]] from an American spacecraft ([[Gordon Cooper]] had transmitted [[slow-scan television]] pictures from [[Mercury-Atlas 9|''Faith{{spaces}}7'']] in 1963, but the pictures were of poor quality and were never broadcast).<ref name="Apollo video camera">[[#Steven-Boniecki 2010|Steven-Boniecki 2010]], pp. 55–58</ref> According to Jones, "these apparently amiable astronauts delivered to NASA a solid public relations coup."<ref name = "fight" />  Daily television broadcasts of about 10 minutes each followed, during which the crew held up more signs and educated their audience about spaceflight; after the return to Earth, they were awarded a special [[Emmy]] for the telecasts.<ref name = "Eisele obit">{{cite news|last=McQuiston|first=John T.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1987/12/03/744687.html|page=58|title=Donn F. Eisele, 57: One of 3 crewmen On Apollo 7 mission|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 3, 1987}}</ref>

Later on October 14, the craft's onboard radar receiver was able to lock onto a ground-based transmitter, again showing a CSM in lunar orbit could keep contact with a LM returning from the Moon's surface.<ref name = nyt1015 /> Throughout the remainder of the mission, the crew continued to run tests on the CSM, including of the propulsion, navigation, environmental, electrical and thermal control systems. All checked out well; according to authors [[Francis French (author)|Francis French]] and [[Colin Burgess (author)|Colin Burgess]], "The redesigned Apollo spacecraft was better than anyone had dared to hope."{{sfn|French & Burgess 2007|pp=1011–1012}} Eisele found that navigation was not as easy as anticipated; he found it difficult to use Earth's horizon in sighting stars due to the fuzziness of the atmosphere, and water dumps made it difficult to discern which glistening points were stars and which ice particles.{{sfn|French & Burgess 2007|pp=1012–1014}} By the end of the mission, the SPS engine had been fired eight times without any problems.<ref name = "fight" />

One difficulty that was encountered was with the sleep schedule, which called for one crew member to remain awake at all times; Eisele was to remain awake while the others slept, and sleep during part of the time the others were awake. This did not work well, as it was hard for crew members to work without making a disturbance. Cunningham later remembered waking up to find Eisele dozing.{{sfn|French & Burgess 2007|pp=1015–1018}}

===Conflict and splashdown===

Schirra was angered by NASA managers allowing the launch to proceed despite the winds, saying "The mission pushed us to the wall in terms of risk."{{sfn|Schirra 1988|p=200}} Jones said, "This prelaunch dispute was the prelude to a tug of war over command decisions for the rest of the mission."<ref name = "fight" /> Lack of sleep and Schirra's cold probably contributed to the conflict between the astronauts and Mission Control that surfaced from time to time during the flight.{{sfn|French & Burgess 2007|pp=1021–1022}}

[[File:Apollo 7 recovery with SH-3 Sea King 1968.jpg|thumb|A crewmember being hoisted into the recovery [[Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King|SH-3]] helicopter]]
The testing of the television resulted in a disagreement between the crew and Houston. Schirra stated at the time, "You've added two burns to this flight schedule, and you've added a urine water dump; and we have a new vehicle up here, and I can tell you at this point, TV will be delayed without any further discussion until after the rendezvous."<ref name = "fight" /> Schirra later wrote, "we'd resist anything that interfered with our main mission objectives. On this particular Saturday morning a TV program clearly interfered."{{sfn|Schirra 1988|p=202}} Eisele agreed in his memoirs, "We were preoccupied with preparations for that critical exercise and didn't want to divert our attention with what seemed to be trivialities at the time.{{spaces}}... Evidently the earth people felt differently; there was a real stink about the hotheaded, recalcitrant Apollo{{spaces}}7 crew who wouldn't take orders."{{sfn|Eisele 2017|pp=71–72}} French and Burgess wrote, "When this point is considered objectively—that in a front-loaded mission the rendezvous, alignment, and engine tests should be done before television shows—it is hard to argue with him [Schirra]."{{sfn|French & Burgess 2007|p=1026}} Although Slayton gave in to Schirra, the commander's attitude surprised flight controllers.<ref name = "fight" />

[[Image:The Apollo 7 crew is welcomed aboard the USS Essex.jpg|thumb|The crew is welcomed aboard the [[USS Essex (CV-9)|USS ''Essex'']]]]
On Day 8, after being asked to follow a new procedure passed up from the ground that caused the computer to freeze, Eisele radioed, "We didn't get the results that you were after. We didn't get a damn thing, in fact{{spaces}}... you bet your ass{{spaces}}... as far as we're concerned, somebody down there screwed up royally when he laid that one on us."{{sfn|French & Burgess 2007|p=1032}} Schirra later stated his belief that this was the one main occasion when Eisele upset Mission Control.{{sfn|French & Burgess 2007|p=1032}} The next day saw more conflict, with Schirra telling Mission Control after having to make repeated firings of the RCS system to keep the spacecraft stable during a test, "I wish you would find out the idiot's name who thought up this test. I want to find out, and I want to talk to him personally when I get back down."<ref name="fight"/> Eisele joined in, "While you are at it, find out who dreamed up 'P22 horizon test'; that is a beauty also."{{efn|"P22" refers to Program 22 of the [[Apollo Guidance Computer]], a means of getting a navigational fix on the spacecraft. Earlier in the day Eisele had been asked to perform "P22 horizon sightings," to which he initially replied, "What in the world is a P22 horizon sighting?"<ref>{{cite web|work=Apollo 7 Flight Journal|url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap07fj/a7_12_day9.html|title=Day 9 (preliminary)|date=June 14, 2019|access-date=November 27, 2020}}</ref>}}<ref name="fight"/>

A further source of tension between Mission Control and the crew was that Schirra repeatedly expressed the view that the reentry should be conducted with their helmets off. He perceived a risk that their eardrums might burst due to the sinus pressure from their colds, and they wanted to be able to [[Valsalva maneuver|pinch their noses and blow]] to equalize the pressure as it increased during reentry. This would have been impossible wearing the helmets. Over several days, Schirra refused advice from the ground that the helmets should be worn, stating it was his prerogative as commander to decide this, though Slayton warned him he would have to answer for it after the flight. Schirra stated in 1994, "In this case I had a cold, and I'd had enough discussion with the ground, and I didn't have much more time to talk about whether we would put the helmet on or off. I said, essentially, I'm on board, I'm commanding. They could wear all the black armbands they wanted if I was lost or if I lost my hearing. But I had the responsibility for getting through the mission."<ref name="fight"/> No helmets were worn during the entry. Director of Flight Operations [[Christopher C. Kraft]] demanded an explanation for what he believed was Schirra's insubordination from the CAPCOM, Stafford. Kraft later said, "Schirra was exercising his commander’s right to have the last word, and that was that."<ref name = "fight" />

Apollo 7 splashed down without incident at 11:11:48 UTC on October 22, 1968, {{convert|200|nmi|mi km}} SSW of [[Bermuda]] and {{convert|7|nmi|mi km|0|adj=ri0}} north of the recovery ship [[USS Essex (CV-9)|USS ''Essex'']]. The mission's duration was 10{{spaces}}days, 20{{spaces}}hours, 9{{spaces}}minutes and 3{{spaces}}seconds.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=180}}<ref name = "fight" />