Editing Apollo 7 (section)

===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}}