Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the Apollo program, launched on October 11, 1968. It was the first manned spacecraft to be launched after the Apollo 1 disaster, which killed three astronauts during a ground test. The mission was manned by three astronauts: Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham.
The primary goal of the mission was to test the Apollo spacecraft’s ability to operate in space, including the command and service modules and the lunar module. The astronauts also performed various experiments during their 11-day mission, including testing the spacecraft’s environmental control system and conducting televised broadcasts from orbit.
Apollo 7 was considered a successful mission, paving the way for future manned missions to the Moon. It was the first manned spacecraft to be launched by the Saturn IB rocket, which would later be used to launch the Apollo 8 mission to the Moon.