ABSTRACT
The first Apollo to lift off with astronauts inside was Apollo 7, which launched on October 11, 1968. The space program's long dark period, while the fire was being studied and the spacecraft was being redesigned, was coincidentally a time of upheaval and unrest for America. In keeping with the dictates of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-speak, the odd-shaped rig was dubbed the lunar landing training vehicle (LLTV). The Apollo 1 fire had deeply affected Mercury veteran, Wally Schirra. The Soviet program followed a trajectory similar to NASA's for much of 1967 and 1968. Apollo 7 would be the first American spacecraft to carry a three-man crew. Schirra commanded the mission, accompanied by group-three astronauts Walter Cunningham and Donn Eisele. A new appreciation of the astronauts' challenge began to filter into the public consciousness. The one test for the American program would be to try out the lunar module, the last piece of the Apollo puzzle, in earth orbit.
