Today in History: Apollo 7, First Mission To Carry Crew Into Space

Apollo 7 was human spaceflight mission carried out by the United States in October 11, 1968. This was the first mission for United States and NASA to carry a crew into space.

The Apollo 7 crew was commanded by Walter M. Schirra, with senior pilot / navigator Donn F. Eisele, and pilot / systems engineer R. Walter Cunningham.

The first crewed American space flight in 22 months lifted from LC-34 at 15:02:45 UTC on Friday, October 11, 1968. The astronauts described it as very smooth riding compared to the rough, bumpy Titan II used to launch the Gemini spacecraft.

Apollo 7 spent more time in space than all the Soviet space flights combined up to that time. The mission featured the first live TV from a manned spacecraft.

In January 1969, the Apollo 7 command module was displayed on a NASA float in the inauguration parade of President Richard M. Nixon.

Accoding to wikipedia, currently, the Apollo 7 CM is on loan to the Frontiers of Flight Museum located next to Love Field in Dallas, Texas