On this day in aviation and space history, 57 years ago (October 10, 1968), NASA launched Apollo 7—the first successful crewed mission of the Apollo program. At precisely 15:02:45 UTC, a Saturn IB rocket (AS-205) lifted off from Launch Complex 34 at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Florida. The crew consisted of Mission Commander Capt. Walter “Wally” Schirra (U.S. Navy), Command Module Pilot Maj. Donn F. Eisele (U.S. Air Force), and Lunar Module Pilot Maj. R. Walter Cunningham (U.S. Marine Corps). Their mission marked a crucial step toward landing humans on the Moon.
Apollo 7’s primary objective was to conduct a full demonstration of the Apollo spacecraft systems in Earth orbit—especially the Service Propulsion System (SPS). The SPS used an Aerojet AJ10-137 rocket engine, manufactured by Aerojet General Corporation in Azusa, California. This engine, fueled by Aerozine 50 and nitrogen tetroxide, produced 20,500 pounds of thrust and was designed for 750 seconds of total burn time, with the capability of up to 50 restarts during a mission. The SPS would later be used for major orbital maneuvers on lunar missions.
The Apollo Command Module (CM) was built by North American Aviation—renowned for legendary aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang and F-86 Sabre. The Block II version flown on Apollo 7 (CSM-101) incorporated extensive safety and design improvements following the tragic Apollo 1 fire. The spacecraft was designed to sustain a three-person crew for missions lasting up to two weeks.
The Saturn IB launch vehicle was assembled by Chrysler. Its first stage (S-IB) was powered by eight Rocketdyne H-1 engines burning RP-1 and liquid oxygen, generating a combined 1.6 million pounds of thrust for approximately 150 seconds. The upper stage (S-IVB), built by Douglas Aircraft, featured a single Rocketdyne J-2 engine fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, producing 200,000 pounds of thrust with a burn duration of roughly 480 seconds.
Apollo 7 remained in space for 10 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes, and 3 seconds, completing 163 orbits of Earth. The mission concluded on October 22, 1968, with splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 230 miles south-southwest of Bermuda. The crew and capsule were recovered by the aircraft carrier USS Essex (CVS-9). The success of Apollo 7 proved the spacecraft’s readiness for crewed lunar missions, paving the way for Apollo 8’s historic journey around the Moon and, ultimately, the first lunar landing less than a year later.
