Schirra • Eisele • Cunningham / Borman • Lovell • Anders

At the end of 1968, Apollo 7 and Apollo 8 flew only months apart and together restored confidence in the Apollo program after the disastrous Apollo 1 fire. Apollo 7 carried the first three-man American crew into space and orbited the Earth for 11 days, proving that the redesigned command module was worthy to serve the approaching lunar missions. Apollo 8 became the first manned mission to escape Earth's gravitational field and orbit another heavenly body. Its crew became the first humans to view the far side of the moon and to witness and photograph an Earthrise over the lunar horizon. Apollo 8 validated the Apollo program and its giant Saturn rocket, and just seven months later Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.

Huntsville, Alabama · United States