Editing Apollo 7 (section)

===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" />