[NASA APOLLO PROGRAM APOLLO 7 MISSION DOCUMENTARY FILM]

during a rainstorm on the morning of October 22nd 1968 in the Atlantic Ocean the United States completed one of its most remarkably successful tests yet of man and machine in space but this was only the ending [Applause] it was on a clear morning almost eleven days earlier at the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 34 in Florida that we witnessed the beginning of the first manned mission in the United States Apollo program to land astronauts on the moon the purpose of the flight of Apollo 7 could be stated very simply prove that the spacecraft command and service modules would function properly in space long enough to carry men to the moon and back accomplishing this was considerably less simple it meant showing that a brand-new spacecraft far more complicated than its predecessors would operate so well it could be trusted to take men well beyond near-earth orbit the astronauts were spacecraft commander Walter schirra and pilots Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham the Kennedy Space Center had spent long days in preparation and check-out working toward a launch time which had been set for months it was not by chance that Apollo 7 lifted off only two and three-quarter minutes after the appointed moment [Music] the Marshall Space Flight Center had spent years directing development and testing of the Saturn 1b launch vehicle and it was not by chance that Apollo 7 was placed almost exactly on its planned trajectory into orbit about the earth the general pattern of goal for Apollo 7 was established in a conversation between the spacecraft and Mission Control at the manned spacecraft Center in Houston Texas right Buster go way up here we may be slightly marginal only walks damn by cutoff date too pal I know what photo work go for BMC let's see [Applause] we have you go for but here go for orbit Apollo seven was also goal for an exhaustive series of tests of its worthiness in space one of the first things which had to be learned was whether the astronauts could control the spacecraft combined with the s4b saturn stage a very similar thing would have to be done during the early phases of a lunar mission the answer was not long and coming next the spacecraft and s4b stage were separated the question now was whether the astronauts could turn their spacecraft around and control it to the degree required for future physical link ups with equipment in space for this too would have to be done in the lunar flight and again the answer was yes something that will not be seen in the lunar flight or in any other forthcoming Apollo mission where the panel's at the top of the s4b stage they will simply be jettisoned in the future but they drew comment in Apollo 7 [Applause] right just like you're looking at a four jaw angry alligator Apollo seven escorted it spent s4b stage through space for perhaps 30 minutes then departed yes the following day Apollo seven burned its spacecraft propulsion system for the first two times in the mission and returned to its four jawed alligator which was now angrier than ever how close are you now [Applause] [Music] [Applause] okay pepper akin this maneuver Apollo seven had accomplished the first rendezvous of the program and in so doing had proved incapable of meeting still another requirement for lunar flight six one eight two then as we were to see in some of the most dramatic film ever returned from space the crew would settle down to a weightless life in a spacecraft with four times more room than Gemma Nate [Music] [Laughter] Acey there would be a host of other tests under a host of other conditions the equipment and systems required to sustain men's lives to guide and control and propel the spaceship to provide electric power to communicate with those on earth would time and again prove their mettle the propulsion system for example was burned eight times and it behaved perfectly every time [Music] [Laughter] [Music] the crew worked with a telescope and a sextant taking landmark in star sightings for navigation as will be required for lunar flight and they discovered on occasion that water particles which have been dumped overboard could be confused with stars care will have to be taken to avoid this confusion on future flights all in all though problems were minor and generally were readily overcome or solved the spacecraft almost seemed to grow stronger as the days went by but Apollo 7 was as much a test of man as of machine and human errors were not taken lightly on the ground here the era had led to an interruption of a sleep period for the astronauts who were understandably irritated after days of hard work it was imperative that this situation be remedy there were also those problems to which man is susceptible but cannot control like the common cold [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] as the cold spread to all three astronauts doctors feared that there might be discomfort even pain derives as pressure increased during reentry the astronauts were able to cope with the problem however by taking decongestants and holding their noses and blowing to equalize re-entry pressures always before we've had to be content with merely listening to our astronauts during their flights in Apollo 7 through the medium of television we could actually see them in space for the first time and become better acquainted with weightless [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] clear according to everyone in television land you're looking at the right-hand portion of the main display console and the upper left-hand portion of your view you would see the instruments has to do is the cryogenics that are used to power the fuel cells and provide breathing oxygen to the spacecraft as the point of Apollo seven preceded day by day confidence in men and equipment grew the astronauts became accustomed to their home high atop everything they had a chance to evaluate it as a place to live and work in space [Laughter] at all [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] there was a chance to photograph Hurricane Gladys which raked across Florida and headed out into the Atlantic there was a chance to photograph areas of the earth not previously pictured from space for example the coast of Chile and the Andes mountain range the crew could evaluate such things as the importance of exercising the quality of sleeping arrangements the palatability of food seemingly small items but things of essential importance in a lunar mission they even recorded the preparation of a drink for a meal [Laughter] [Music] we have Comet Australian by the time Apollo 7 entered its 11th day in space it had exceeded the time required for a flight to the moon and back it was also well on its way to accomplishing all planned objectives and more Apollo 7 was called 101 percent successful on the morning of October 22nd 1968 Apollo 7 began its final revolution the 163rd at approximately two hundred fifty nine hours and 39 minutes after liftoff the spacecraft propulsion system was burned for the final time and Apollo 7 headed home to earth from motion picture film recorded during an earlier unmanned Apollo mission we get some idea what the trip back through the atmosphere was like in less than an hour after touchdown in the Atlantic Ocean the flight crew emerged from helicopters which had brought them to the recovery ship the carrier USS Essex [Music] and the next manned Apollo flight can be undertaken with confidence that our brand-new spacecraft is as commander Walter schirra reported a magnificent flying machine