Walter Schirra
NASA Astronaut
Nationality	American
Born	March 12, 1923 Hackensack, New Jersey
Died	May 3, 2007 (aged 84) La Jolla, California
Other occupation	Test Pilot
Rank	Captain, USN
Space time	12d 7h 12m
Selection	1959 NASA Group
Missions	Mercury 8, Gemini 6A, Apollo 7
Mission insignia

Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. (March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007) was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury, America's first effort to put men in space. He was the only person to fly in all of America's first three space programs (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo). He logged a total of 295 hours and 15 minutes in space. Image File history File links http://grin. ... For other uses, see NASA (disambiguation). ... is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Joe Mallone is a douchebag For other places with this name, see Hackensack. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... One of the beaches at La Jolla Cove La Jolla, California, is a seaside resort community comprised of 42,808[1] residents within the city of San Diego. ... Test pilots are aviators who fly new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated. ... For other uses, see Captain (disambiguation). ... USN redirects here. ... 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1984 1985 1987 1990 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 2000 2003 2004 1958 June 25 - Man In Space Soonest - USA The first group of American astronaut candidates were selected... Crew Wally Schirra Backup Crew Gordon Cooper Mission Parameters Mass:1370 kg Perigee: 153 km Apogee: 285 km Inclination: 32. ... Gemini 6A (officially Gemini VI-A) was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the Apollo program to be launched. ... Mercury 8 insignia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Ge06Patch_emb. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (912x700, 885 KB)[1]. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Original seven Astronauts portrait (L-R: Schirra, Shepard, Slayton, Grissom, Glenn, Cooper, Carpenter) The Mercury Seven was the group of seven Mercury astronauts picked in April 1959. ... Description Role: Orbital spaceflight Crew: one, pilot Dimensions Height: 11. ... Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article is about the series of human spaceflight missions. ...

Biography

The family name Schirra is originally from the Valle Onsernone, in Canton Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland, and almost entirely German-speaking municipality of Italian enclave of Campione dItalia. ... Italian ( , or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people,[4] primarily in Italy. ...

Schirra was born into an aviation family in Hackensack, New Jersey. Schirra's father, Walter M. Schirra, Sr., went to Canada during World War I and earned his pilot rating. He later became a barnstormer. Schirra's mother, Florence Leach Schirra, went along on her husband's barnstorming tours and performed wing walking stunts. By the time he was 15, Wally was flying his father's airplane. Schirra was a Boy Scout and earned the rank of First Class in Troop 36 in Oradell, New Jersey.^[1] Joe Mallone is a douchebag For other places with this name, see Hackensack. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Aviator (disambiguation). ... Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, often in groups as a flying circus. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Boy Scouting is a part of the program that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) offers for boys and young men. ... Scouting in New Jersey has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. ... Map highlighting Oradells location within Bergen County. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

Schirra graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, New Jersey and attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1941, where he was a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity. Dwight Morrow High School in 2002. ... Map highlighting Englewoods location within Bergen County. ... New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. ... Sigma Pi (ΣΠ) is an international college social fraternity with chapters in the United States and Canada. ...

Navy experience

He attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated in 1945. He was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy, serving the final months of World War II aboard the battle cruiser USS Alaska. After the war ended, he trained as a pilot at NAS Pensacola and joined a carrier fighter squadron. He became only the second naval aviator to log 1,000 hours in jet aircraft. The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and is in Annapolis, Maryland . ... USN redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The third USS Alaska (CB-1) was an Alaska-class large cruiser of the United States Navy. ... Naval Air Station Pensacola, The Cradle of Naval Aviation, is a United States Navy base located in Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits. ... Four aircraft carriers, (bottom-to-top) Principe de Asturias, amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and light V/STOL carrier HMS Invincible, showing size differences of late 20th century carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and recover aircraft, acting as a sea-going airbase. ...

Upon the outbreak of the Korean War, Schirra was dispatched to South Korea as an exchange pilot on loan to the US Air Force. He served as a flight leader with the 136th Bomb Wing, and then as operations officer with the 154th Fighter Bomber Squadron. He flew 90 combat missions between 1951 and 1952, mostly in F-84s. Schirra was credited with downing one MiG-15 and damaging two others. Schirra received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster for his service in Korea. Belligerents United Nations: Republic of Korea Australia Belgium Canada Colombia Ethiopia France Greece Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand Philippines South Africa Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States Naval Support and Military Servicing/Repairs: Japan Medical staff: Denmark Italy Norway India Sweden DPR Korea PR China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung... Seal of the Air Force. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The F-84 Thunderjet was an American built fighter-bomber aircraft made by the Republic Aviation Company. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO reporting name Fagot) was a jet fighter developed for the USSR. History Design began under the bureau designation I-310, which first flew in 1947. ... The Distinguished Flying Cross. ... Air Medal Ribbon The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States which was established by Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, on May 11, 1942. ... Bronze and Silver oak leaf clusters An Oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on military awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. ...

F3H Demon delivery, mid 1950s

After his tour in Korea, Schirra served as a test pilot. At China Lake he tested weapons systems such as the Sidewinder missile and the F7U-3 Cutlass jet fighter. After spending time as a flight instructor and carrier based aviator, he later returned to his test pilot duties and helped evaluate the F-4 fighter for naval service. In the image at right, Schirra is shown taking delivery of a F3H Demon from McDonnell Design Chief, Dave Lewis. They remained good friends, later working together on the McDonnell Mercury 7 program. Test pilots are aviators who fly new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated. ... NASA satellite photo showing the main runways at NAWS China Lake The Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS China Lake) is an airborne weapons testing and training range operated by the United States Navy and its contractors. ... The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. ... The Chance Vought F7U Cutlass (Vought V-346A Cutlass) was a U.S. Navy carrier based jet fighter and fighter-bomber of the early Cold War. ... The F-4 Phantom II (simply F-4 Phantom after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation. ... The McDonnell F3H Demon was a US Navy carrier-based jet fighter aircraft. ... David Lewis, 1983 David Sloan Lewis, Jr. ...

NASA experience

On April 2, 1959, Schirra was chosen as one of the original seven American astronauts. He entered Project Mercury and was assigned the specialty area involving life support systems. is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Original seven Astronauts portrait (L-R: Schirra, Shepard, Slayton, Grissom, Glenn, Cooper, Carpenter) The Mercury Seven was the group of seven Mercury astronauts picked in April 1959. ... Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States. ...

Mercury

On October 3, 1962, Schirra became the fifth American in space, piloting the Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7) on a six-orbit mission lasting 9 hours, 13 minutes, and 11 seconds. The capsule attained a velocity of 17,557 miles per hour and an altitude of 175 statute miles, and landed within four miles of the main Pacific Ocean recovery ship. is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Wally Schirra (flew on Mercury 8, Gemini 6A, & Apollo 7) Gordon Cooper Mass:1370 kg Perigee: 153 km Apogee: 285 km Inclination: 32. ...

March 10, 1966: Wally Schirra is presented with the Philippine Air Force Aviation Badge by Imelda Marcos as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, watches. Schirra is also wearing the Philippines' Legion of Honor, presented in a ceremony at the Malacañang Palace in Manila.

Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is the air force of the Philippines. ... Imelda Trinidad Romuáldez-Marcos (born July 2, 1929 in Manila) is a former First Lady and influential political figure in the Philippines. ... Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno Court of Appeals · Sandiganbayan Court of Tax Appeals · Ombudsman Elections Commission on Elections Chairman: Resurreccion Z. Borra 2013 | 2010 | 2007 | 2004 | 2001 | 1998 1995 | 1992 | 1987 | 1986 | All Foreign relations Government Website Human rights Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      The President of the... Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralín Marcos (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was President of the Philippines from 1966 to 1986. ... The Philippine Legion of Honor was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. ... Malacañan Palace, colloquially, the Malacañang Palace [1], is the official residence of the President of the Philippines. ... For other meanings of the word, see Manila (disambiguation). ...

Gemini

On December 15, 1965, Schirra flew into space a second time in Gemini 6A with Tom Stafford, rendezvousing with astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell, Jr. in Gemini 7. This was the first rendezvous of two manned spacecraft in earth orbit. The two vehicles, however, were not capable of actually docking. Gemini 6 landed in the Atlantic Ocean the next day, while Gemini 7 continued on to a record-setting 14-day mission. is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Gemini 6A (officially Gemini VI-A) was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Thomas Patten Stafford (born September 17, 1930) is a former American astronaut and Air Force Lieutenant General (retired). ... Frank Borman (right) poses with Jim Lovell (left) and Bill Anders (center) for an Apollo 8 publicity photo Frank Borman (born March 14, 1928) was a NASA astronaut, best remembered as one of the three crewmembers of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon. ... Captain James Jim Arthur Lovell, Jr. ... Gemini 7 (officially Gemini VII) was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ...

While on the Gemini mission, Schirra attracted notoriety for playing "Jingle Bells" on a four-hole Hohner harmonica he had smuggled on board, and a "Wally Schirra" commemorative model was later produced.

Apollo

On October 11, 1968, Schirra became the first person to fly in space three times on his final flight as commander of Apollo 7, the first manned flight in the Apollo program, which occurred after a fatal fire during tests of Apollo 1. The three-person crew, including Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham, spent eleven days in earth orbit, performed rendezvous exercises with the upper stage of the Saturn 1-B launch vehicle that rocketed them into space and provided the first live television pictures from inside a U.S. manned spacecraft (other than an experimental broadcast during the flight of Gordon Cooper) for which he received an Emmy. is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the Apollo program to be launched. ... Apollo 1 is the official name given to the never-flown Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) mission. ... Donn F. Eisele June 23, 1930-December 2, 1987 was born in Columbus, Ohio and served as a Colonel in the USAF, as well as an astronaut with NASA. EDUCATION: Graduated from West High School, Columbus, Ohio; received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy in... Ronnie Walter Walt Cunningham (born March 16, 1932) was an American astronaut. ... The Saturn IB was an uprated version of the Saturn I, which featured a much more powerful second stage, the S-IVB. Unlike the earlier Saturn I, the IB had enough throw weight to launch the Apollo Command/Service Module or Lunar Module into Earth orbit, which made it invaluable... Apollo Lunar Television Camera TV cameras used on the Apollo (and later ASTP and Skylab) missions varied in design, with image quality improving significantly with each design. ... Leroy Gordon Gordo Cooper, Jr. ... An Emmy Award. ...

During the Apollo 7 mission, Schirra caught what was perhaps the most famous cold in NASA history.[1] He took Actifed to relieve his symptoms upon the advice of the flight surgeon. His grumpy behaviour served as a distraction to the flight controllers and this behaviour may have led him to never fly in space again. His crew never flew in space again as well. Years later, he became a spokesman for Actifed and would appear in television commercials advertising the product.^[2] Acute viral nasopharyngitis, or acute coryza, usually known as the common cold, is a highly contagious, viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, primarily caused by picornaviruses or coronaviruses. ... Triprolidine hydrochloride is an over-the-counter antihistamine. ... A flight surgeon is a specialized medical officer in the military, typically the air force. ...

During later Apollo missions he served as a news consultant, often being interviewed by Walter Cronkite on CBS News. He co-anchored with Cronkite and Arthur C. Clarke the first Apollo landing on the Moon. ^[3] Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, Sri Lankabhimanya (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British (lived in Sri Lanka since 1956) science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which led also to... For other uses, see Apollo (disambiguation). ...

Schirra's logbooks show a total of 4,577 hours flight time (295 in space) and 267 carrier landings.

Writing career

In 2005 Schirra co-authored the book The Real Space Cowboys with Ed Buckbee. The book is an account of the 'Mercury Seven' astronauts. It follows them through the process of selection for the program, their entire careers, and into retirement. Also, Wernher von Braun, NASA, Space Camp, and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center are given special attention. For other uses of von Braun, see von Braun (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see NASA (disambiguation). ... Space Camp is a 1986 movie based on a book by Patrick Bailey and Larry B Williams and inspired by the real-life U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. ... Some of the rockets in the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. ...

Schirra was also a major contributor to the 2007 book In the Shadow of the Moon , which captured his final published thoughts on his life and career. Not to be confused with In the Shadow of the Moon. ...

Death

He died on May 3, 2007 of a heart attack due to malignant mesothelioma at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, California.^[4][5] A memorial service for Schirra was held on May 22 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in California. The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute and a flyover by three F-18s. Schirra was cremated and his ashes were committed to the sea on February 11, 2008. The burial-at-sea ceremony was held aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and his ashes were released by Cmdr. Lee Axtell, command chaplain aboard the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).^[6][7] is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... One of the beaches at La Jolla Cove La Jolla, California, is a seaside resort community comprised of 42,808[1] residents within the city of San Diego. ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A tugboat tows the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Midway towards San Diego Bay past Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is situated in San Diego County on the Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation, the cemetery is located approximately 10 miles west of San Diego, overlooking the bay and the... The F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft. ... USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), the ninth and penultimate Nimitz-class supercarrier, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for former President of the United States Ronald Reagan. ...

The planned Lewis and Clark class dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE-8) will be named for Schirra.^[8] The Lewis and Clark class of dry cargo ship is the next class of Combat Logistics Force (CLF) underway replenishment vessels to be constructed for the United States Navy. ...

Schirra on screen

Wally Schirra was portrayed by Lance Henriksen in the film The Right Stuff and by Mark Harmon in the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor, painter, and potter. ... For the musician of the same name, see Mark Harmon (musician). ... From the Earth to the Moon is a twelve-part HBO television miniseries (1998) co-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks, and Michael Bostick detailing the landmark Apollo expeditions to the Moon during the 1960s and early 1970s. ...

Definition of a space rendezvous

Schirra stated a clear definition of a space rendezvous. He said: A space rendezvous between two spacecraft, often between a spacecraft and a space station, is an orbital maneuver where the two arrive at the same orbit, make the orbital velocities the same, and bring them together (an approach maneuver, taxiing maneuver); it may or may not include docking. ...

"Somebody said ... when you come to within three miles, you've rendezvoused. If anybody thinks they've pulled a rendezvous off at three miles, have fun! This is when we started doing our work. I don't think rendezvous is over until you are stopped - completely stopped - with no relative motion between the two vehicles, at a range of approximately 120 feet. That's rendezvous! From there on, it's stationkeeping. That's when you can go back and play the game of driving a car or driving an airplane or pushing a skateboard — it's about that simple."^[9]

Notes

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 122nd day of the year (123rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Wally Schirra & Richard N. Billings, "Schirra's Space", 1988 ISBN 1-55750-792-9
• Wally Schirra, Richard L. Cormier, and Phillip R. Wood with Barrett Tillman, Wildcats to Tomcats, Phalanx, 1995. ISBN 1-883809-07-X
• Robert Godwin, Ed. "Sigma 7: The NASA Mission Reports", 2003 ISBN 1-894959-01-9
• Robert Godwin, Ed. "Gemini 6: The NASA Mission Reports", 2000 ISBN 1-896522-61-0
• Robert Godwin, Ed. "Apollo 7: The NASA Mission Reports", 2000 ISBN 1-896522-64-5
• Ed Buckbee with Wally Schirra, "The Real Space Cowboys", 2005 ISBN 1-894959-21-3

Barrett Tillman (b. ...

See also

• Space rendezvous

A space rendezvous between two spacecraft, often between a spacecraft and a space station, is an orbital maneuver where the two arrive at the same orbit, make the orbital velocities the same, and bring them together (an approach maneuver, taxiing maneuver); it may or may not include docking. ...

External links

• Official website
• NASA long biography
• NASA short biography