Mercury-Atlas 8Atlas LV-3B National Aeronautics and Space Administration Launch Status Success Wed ยท Oct 3rd, 1962 8:15 AM EDT Crew Wally Schirra Pilot Status: Deceased 3/12/1923 - 5/3/2007 Nationality: American Type: Government First Flight: 10/3/1962 Last Flight: 10/11/1968 Walter Marty Schirra Jr. was an American naval aviator 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 human beings in space. On October 3, 1962, he flew the six-orbit, nine-hour, Mercury-Atlas 8 mission, in a spacecraft he nicknamed Sigma 7. At the time of his mission in Sigma 7, Schirra became the fifth American and ninth human to travel into space. In 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 December 1965. 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 manned launch for the Apollo program. Mission Mercury-Atlas 8 Type: Human Exploration Mercury-Atlas 6 carrying Sigma 7 spacecraft carried astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. to orbit where he completed 6 orbits lasting a total of 9 hours and 13 minutes. The mission goal was to compete engineering tests and all objectives were met. Location Space Launch Complex 14 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA 214 rockets have launched from Cape Canaveral, FL, USA. Rocket Atlas Length: 28.7 meters Diameter: 3 meters First Launch: July 29, 1960 The Atlas LV-3B, Atlas D Mercury Launch Vehicle or Mercury-Atlas Launch Vehicle, was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit. Manufactured by American aircraft manufacturing company Convair, it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile, and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets. The Atlas rocket has been launched a total of 7 times with 6 successful and 1 failed launches. Agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration Type: Government Abbreviation: NASA Administration: Administrator: Jim Bridenstine Founded: 1958 Launchers: Space Shuttle | SLS Spacecraft: Orion Country: USA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. View Rocket Launch Schedule