Walter “Wally” Schirra
Wally Schirra was one of NASA’s first seven astronauts (the Mercury Seven) and the third American to orbit the Earth.
Quick Facts
60 Years Ago: Astronaut Schirra Orbits the Earth Six Times Aboard Sigma 7
On Oct. 3, 1962, astronaut Walter M. “Wally” Schirra completed America’s third and then-longest orbital spaceflight during the Mercury-Atlas 8…
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Walter “Wally” Schirra
Selected by NASA in 1959, Schirra was one of the Mercury Seven, the first 7 astronauts in America’s space program.
On Oct. 3, 1962, astronaut Walter M. “Wally” Schirra completed America’s third and then-longest orbital spaceflight during the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission. Naming his spacecraft Sigma 7, Schirra completed six orbits of the Earth, conducting engineering tests of his spacecraft and several experiments including photography of the planet.
Read More About Wally![Image of Mercury 7 astronaut Wally Schirra standing the a model of the Sigma 7 spacecraft.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/8892072/8892072~large.jpg?w=1529&h=1920&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
Tribute to Wally Schirra
Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, has died. He was 84 years old.
“With the passing of Wally Schirra, we at NASA note with sorrow the loss of yet another of the pioneers of human spaceflight,” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said. “As a Mercury astronaut, Wally was of a member of the first group of astronauts to be selected, often referred to as the Original Seven.”
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The Mercury Seven
On October 7, 1958, shortly after NASA opened for business, it announced its first major undertaking, Project Mercury. The objectives were threefold: to place a human spacecraft into orbital flight around Earth, observe human performance in such conditions, and recover the human and the spacecraft safely. In January 1959, the committee received and screened 508 service records of a group of talented test pilots, of which seven were ultimately chosen.
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The Mercury Seven
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Mercury-Atlas 8: Sigma 7
Manned mission in orbit for 9 hours. Walter M. Schirra was the astronaut who flew on this mission.
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Apollo 7
The first crewed flight of the Apollo program. The mission objectives were to demonstrate the Command and Service Module (CSM) with crew performance; demonstrate mission support facilities’ performance during a…
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