Counting Down to Apollo

One American's account of watching humanity reach the Moon

Tag: apollo-7

Apollo 7 Is Home — We’re Back
Apollo 7 October 22, 1968

Apollo 7 Is Home — We’re Back

Eleven days in orbit. All systems tested. Three men home safe. Schirra had a head cold the whole time, which made him even more cantankerous than usual with Mission Control. But more importantly: they broadcast live television from space for the first time. The picture was shaky. The men were…
Read the full entry
They’re Going Up Again
Apollo 7 October 11, 1968

They’re Going Up Again

Apollo 7 launched this morning. For the first time since the fire twenty-one months ago, American astronauts are in space. Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walt Cunningham rode a Saturn IB into orbit and the spacecraft worked. I watched from home. I was not entirely certain, until I saw the…
Read the full entry
Apollo 7 — We’re Back
Uncategorized October 11, 1968

Apollo 7 — We’re Back

Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham are in space right now. The first crewed Apollo mission launched this morning and it looks good.
Read the full entry
Eighteen Months Later — I Think They’re Ready
Apollo 1 June 1, 1968

Eighteen Months Later — I Think They’re Ready

Eighteen months since the fire. The spacecraft has been redesigned — new quick-opening hatch, new materials, 1,341 engineering changes. The Saturn V has been tested twice. Apollo 7 will carry men for the first time in a few months. I find myself thinking about Grissom again. I think he would…
Read the full entry