Apollo 7 Launched 57 Years Ago, First Crewed Apollo Flight

On Oct. 11, 1968, Apollo 7 lifted off with NASA astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham — the first crewed mission of the Apollo program. It followed a 1967 fire that killed three astronauts during a launch rehearsal. The 11-day test flight proved the spacecraft worked, though the crew battled motion sickness, a cold and friction with mission control.