Wally Schirra
American astronaut (1923-2007) · United States · On the map · Astronauts · Died at 84
Walter Marty Schirra Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. In 1959, he became one of the original seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury, which was the United States' first effort to put humans into space.
Wally Schirra is read about 255 times a day, in 46 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.
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Schirra in the cockpit of his F-84 Thunderjet during Korean War, 1951
Schirra (2nd from right) and McDonnell Aircraft Design Chief, Dave Lewis at F3H Demon delivery (c. 1958)
Schirra during training before Mercury-Atlas 8 mission (1962)
Schirra during a Gemini 6 training simulation (1965)
Schirra as the Commander of Apollo 7 crew (1968)Awards
About this person
On October 3, 1962, he flew the six-orbit, nine-hour, Mercury-Atlas 8 mission, in a spacecraft he nicknamed Sigma 7, becoming the fifth American and ninth human to travel into space. In December 1965, as part of the two-man Gemini program, he achieved the first space rendezvous, station-keeping his Gemini 6A spacecraft within 1 foot (30 cm) of the sister Gemini 7 spacecraft. In October 1968, he commanded Apollo 7, an 11-day low Earth orbit shakedown test of the three-man Apollo Command/Service Module and the first crewed launch for the Apollo program.
