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Splashdown! Apollo 7 Returns Home

 The Apollo 7 crew arrives aboard the USS Essex
On October 22, 1968, 50 years ago, the Apollo 7 crew splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.

Fifty years ago on Oct. 22, 1968, Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo mission, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Bermuda. All mission objectives were accomplished, and with a duration of nearly 11 days, the flight proved the ability of the spacecraft and crew to complete an 8-day lunar landing mission.

In this image, the Apollo 7 crew crew pauses in the doorway of the recovery helicopter after arriving aboard the U.S.S. Essex, the prime recovery ship for the mission. Left to right, are commander Walter Schirra, command module pilot Donn Eisele, and lunar module pilot Walter Cunningham. To their right is Dr. Donald E. Stullken, NASA Recovery Team Leader from the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Landing and Recovery Division.

Image Credit: NASA