On October 11, 1968, NASA launched Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo mission after the fatal Apollo 1 fire. The spacecraft orbited Earth for eleven days to test the redesigned command module. Astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham conducted maneuvers and broadcast live television from space. Their work confirmed that the spacecraft systems were ready for later lunar missions. Apollo 7’s success restored confidence in the Apollo program after a period of intense scrutiny. It cleared the way for Apollo 8 and eventually Apollo 11’s landing on the Moon.
