Wally Schirra | |
|---|---|
 Schirra in 1964 | |
| Born | Walter Marty Schirra Jr. (1923-03-12)March 12, 1923 Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | May 3, 2007(2007-05-03) (aged 84) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Education | New Jersey Institute of Technology United States Naval Academy (BS) |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Captain,USN |
Time in space | 12d 7h 12m |
| Selection | NASA Group 1 (1959) |
| Missions | |
Mission insignia |    |
| Retirement | July 1, 1969 |
Walter Marty Schirra Jr. (/ʃɜːˈrɑː/shur-AH; March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007) was an Americannaval aviator,test pilot, andNASA astronaut. In 1959, he became one of theoriginal seven astronauts chosen forProject Mercury, which was the United States' first effort to put humans intospace. On October 3, 1962, he flew the six-orbit, nine-hour,Mercury-Atlas 8 mission, in a spacecraft he nicknamedSigma 7, becoming the fifth American and ninth human to travel into space. In December 1965, as part of the two-manGemini program, he achieved the firstspace rendezvous,station-keeping hisGemini 6A spacecraft within 1 foot (30 cm) of the sisterGemini 7 spacecraft. In October 1968, he commandedApollo 7, an 11-daylow Earth orbit shakedown test of the three-manApollo Command/Service Module and the first crewed launch for theApollo program.
Before becoming an astronaut, Schirra graduated with aBachelor of Science degree from theUnited States Naval Academy in 1945, and served at sea duringWorld War II. In 1948, he became a naval aviator, served as afighter pilot and flew 90combat missions in theKorean War, and then in 1958 he graduated from theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Schirra retired from the Navy in 1969 with the rank ofcaptain.
Schirra was the first astronaut to go into space three times, and the only astronaut to have flown into space in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. In total, he logged 295 hours and 15 minutes in space. After Apollo 7, he retired as a captain from the U.S. Navy as well as from NASA, subsequently becoming a consultant toCBS News in the network's coverage of following Apollo flights. Schirra joinedWalter Cronkite as co-anchor for all seven of NASA's Moon landing missions.
Schirra was born on March 12, 1923, inHackensack, New Jersey, to a family of aviators. His paternal grandparents wereSwiss ofItalian heritage (fromSardinia);[1][2] his grandfather Adam Schirra was born in theItalian-speaking village ofLoco inTicino,Switzerland, and emigrated with his wife Josephina (Marty) Schirra to theUnited States fromBavaria.[3][4] Schirra's father, Walter M. Schirra Sr. (1893–1973), who was born inPhiladelphia, joined theRoyal Canadian Air Force duringWorld War I, and flew bombing and reconnaissance missions over Germany. After the war, he performed as abarnstormer at county fairs inNew Jersey, as did Schirra's mother, Florence Shillito Schirra (née Leach; 1898–1982), who performedwing walking stunts.[5]: 9–11 [6]
Schirra Jr. grew up inOradell, New Jersey, where he attended elementary school and was aFirst Class Scout inBoy ScoutTroop 36. He graduated fromDwight Morrow High School inEnglewood, New Jersey, in June 1940 and enrolled in theNewark College of Engineering (now New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJIT), where he was involved in theReserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and theSigma Pi fraternity. Following theattack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Schirra decided to apply to aservice academy. His father encouraged him to apply toWest Point, but he decided to enroll in theUnited States Naval Academy instead. He graduated with aBachelor of Science degree in 1945 after only three years instead of four, as the Naval Academy had a wartime accelerated curriculum.[5]: 10–13 [7][8]
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After graduating from the Naval Academy, Schirra was commissioned as anensign in theUnited States Navy on June 6, 1945. He served during the final months ofWorld War II aboard the largecruiserUSS Alaska. Following the Japanese surrender, he returned to the U.S., where theAlaska was decommissioned. He was subsequently stationed toQingdao and assigned to theamphibious command shipUSS Estes. Following his return fromChina, he began training as aNaval Aviator atNaval Air Station Pensacola,Florida.[5]: 16–20
After he completed training, Schirra received hisnaval aviator wings in 1948 and joined Fighter Squadron 71 (VF-71) atQuonset Point,Rhode Island. In VF-71, Schirra flew theF8F Bearcat. After several years of flying the F8F, he attended jet transition training with theF-80 Shooting Star in preparation for his squadron's transition to the jet-poweredF9F Panther. Schirra was deployed to theMediterranean aboard theaircraft carrierUSS Midway at the outbreak of theKorean War in June 1950. He applied for an exchange program with theU.S. Air Force to gain combat experience, was selected for the program, and trained to fly on theF-84 Thunderjet.[5]: 21–27
Schirra was initially deployed with the154th Fighter-Bomber Squadron toItazuke Air Force Base inJapan, from where he flew missions intoSouth Korea. As U.S. troops advanced north, the squadron was reassigned to a base inDaegu. In the eight-month deployment, Schirra flew 90combat missions and downed twoMiG-15s.[5]: 29–32 [8]
After completing his tour in Korea, Schirra became atest pilot atNaval Ordnance Test Station China Lake,California (NOTS). At China Lake, he tested various weapons systems, including becoming the first pilot to fly with and fire theSidewinder missile. He was assigned toMiramar Naval Air Station to test the newest Navy jet fighter, theF7U Cutlass. He was subsequently assigned toNAS Moffett to begin transition training to the Cutlass, and subsequently theF3H Demon. After a deployment toAsia aboard the aircraft carrierUSS Lexington and aviation safety training with theUniversity of Southern California (USC), he was accepted to theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1958.[5]: 33–43
Schirra was a member of Class 20 at the Naval Test Pilot School, along with future fellow astronautsJim Lovell andPete Conrad, where he learned to fly numerous aircraft, including theF4D Skyray, theF11F Tiger, and theF8U Crusader. After graduation, Schirra became a test pilot atNaval Air Station Patuxent River and learned to fly theF4H Phantom to determine if it could become a carrier-based aircraft.[5]: 43–46
In February 1959, Schirra was one of 110 military test pilots selected by their commanding officers as candidates for the newly formedNational Aeronautics and Space Administration'sProject Mercury, the first U.S. crewed space flight program. Following several rounds of tests, Schirra became a member of theoriginal seven astronauts selected for the program in April 1959.[5]: 46, 57–63 During the program's development, Schirra's areas of responsibility were the life-support systems and the pressurized flight suit. Additionally, Schirra worked alongsideJohn Glenn in capsule design.Scott Carpenter and Schirra flewF-106 Delta Dart chase planes duringAlan Shepard'sFreedom 7suborbital mission. Schirra was initially assigned asDeke Slayton's backup for the second orbital Mercury flight but was replaced with Carpenter when Slayton was grounded. Schirra was instead scheduled for the third orbital flight.[5]: 65, 75–76 [9]
At 7:15 am on October 3, 1962, Schirra lifted off aboard his Mercury flight, namedSigma 7. After a minor trajectory deviation early in flight,Sigma 7 achieved orbit. Once in orbit, Schirra demonstrated manually positioning and maneuvering his spacecraft using a reaction control system. After the navigation issues during Carpenter'sAurora 7 mission, NASA and Schirra focused on the engineering and human factors in manually operating the capsule. Schirra reported rising suit temperatures, reaching a high of 32 °C (90 °F), before he was able to adjust his suit's cooling system manually. After completing his spacecraft tests, Schirra tested his ability to use controls in a zero-gravity environment without sight. Throughout his mission, Schirra demonstrated the ability to act as a backup to automatic controls and manually fly the spacecraft. After six orbits, Schirra manually aligned his spacecraft over Africa and performed retrofire.Sigma 7 landed 5 miles (8.0 km) from the recovery ship, the aircraft carrierUSS Kearsarge, in the central Pacific Ocean. OnceSigma 7 was on deck, Schirra activated the explosive hatch to egress the spacecraft, and received a large bruise, proving that Grissom had not intentionally opened his hatch onLiberty Bell 7. After Schirra returned to the US, he and his family were invited to theOval Office at theWhite House to meetPresident Kennedy on October 16.[5]: 85–94 [10]
At the beginning of the Gemini program,Alan Shepard was assigned to commandGemini 3 withTom Stafford as the pilot, but they were replaced by a backup crew after Shepard was diagnosed withMénière's disease, a disorder of the inner ear. Schirra and Stafford became the backup crew for the newGemini 3 crew,Gus Grissom andJohn Young, and were subsequently scheduled for the Gemini 6 primary crew. Gemini 6 was originally scheduled to perform the first orbital docking with anAgena target vehicle. The Agena vehicle exploded during its launch into orbit on October 25, 1965, while Schirra and Stafford waited in their spacecraft to lift off. Program managers decided that rather than wait for a replacement Agena to be available, they would revise the mission, calling it Gemini 6A and having it attempt a rendezvous withGemini 7, to be flown byFrank Borman andJim Lovell. On December 4, 1965, Gemini 7 lifted off to begin its two-week mission. Gemini 6A prepared to launch on December 12, but its engines shut down less than two seconds after ignition. Despite protocols calling for the astronauts to eject from the spacecraft in the event of an engine shutdown, Schirra chose not to activate his and Stafford's rocket-powered ejection seats, saving them both from probable injuries and a further delay and possible cancellation of the mission. Gemini 6A lifted off on December 15 and successfully rendezvoused with Gemini 7 after five hours of flight. The two spacecraft maneuvered to within one foot of each other andkept station for 5 hours. Following the rendezvous, Gemini 6A deorbited on December 16 and was recovered in the Atlantic ocean southeast of Cape Canaveral by theUSS Wasp.[5]: 157–168 [11]: 50–76
While on the Gemini mission, Schirra played aChristmas practical joke on the flight controllers by first reporting a mockUFO (implyingSanta Claus) sighting, then playing "Jingle Bells" on a four-holeHohnerharmonica he hadsmuggled on board, accompanied by Stafford on sleigh bells.[5]: 165 [12]
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In mid-1966, Schirra was assigned to command a three-manApollo crew withDonn F. Eisele andR. Walter Cunningham to make the second crewed flight test of theApollo Command/Service Module, with a mission profile identical toApollo 1. Schirra argued against a repeat mission, and his crew became the backup crew forGus Grissom,Ed White, andRoger Chaffee. Schirra's crew conducted tests in the command module on January 26, 1967, and were en route to Houston the next day when Grissom and his crew were killed in a fire during a test. Schirra's crew became the prime crew of the first crewed flight. This becameApollo 7 in the program's revised mission numbering plan, and was delayed until the fall of 1968 while safety improvements were made to the Command Module.[5]: 180–193
Schirra had gained a sense of security from havingGuenter Wendt, aMcDonnell Aircraft employee, as the pad leader responsible for the spacecraft's launch readiness. As the Apollo contractor was nowNorth American Aviation, Wendt was no longer pad leader. After the Apollo 1 accident, Schirra felt so strongly he wanted none other than Wendt as pad leader for his Apollo flight, that he convinced Deke Slayton and North American's launch operations manager Bastian "Buzz" Hello to hire Wendt as Apollo 7 pad leader. Wendt remained pad leader for the remainder of the Apollo andSkylab programs, and stayed on with NASA into theSpace Shuttle program before retiring.[5]: 195 [13] However, Schirra was prevented from naming his spacecraftPhoenix in honor of theApollo 1 crew, because some believed that its nickname as a metaphor for "fire" might be misunderstood.[14]
Apollo 7 was launched on October 11, 1968, making Schirra the first person to fly in space three times. Prior to launch, Schirra had objected because of high winds, which could have injured the astronauts in the event of an abort within the first minute of the mission. After reaching orbit, the Apollo 7CSM performedspace rendezvous and docking exercises with theS-4B stage to simulate retrieving theApollo Lunar Module. On the second day of the mission, the crew conducted the first livetelevision pictures publicly broadcast from inside a crewed spacecraft.[5]: 199–203 [note 1]
During the mission, Schirra became sick with ahead cold, which he passed to Eisele. Anticipating issues with congestion inside of a sealed spacesuit, Schirra proposed toMission Control that they would not wear their helmets during reentry. Despite a request fromChris Kraft and Deke Slayton to wear helmets during reentry, Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham refused and performed reentry without them. Apollo 7 landed southeast ofBermuda on October 22, 1968.[5]: 206–209 [8]
Prior to the Apollo 7 launch, Schirra had decided to retire after the flight,[16] and left theNASA Astronaut Corps on July 1, 1969. Schirra's last assignment as an astronaut was to conduct the investigation intoNeil Armstrong'sLunar Landing Research Vehicle crash, which he attributed to a mechanical failure and recommended suspending training with the vehicle.[5]: 208, 211, 216 On the same date, Schirra retired from the Navy with the rank ofCaptain.[8]
A combination ofpseudoephedrine decongestant withtriprolidine antihistamine was the cold medicine carried on board the Apollo missions and prescribed by theflight surgeon. Years later when this became availableover the counter asActifed, the makers of Actifed hired Schirra as a television commercial spokesman, based on the notoriety of his Apollo 7 in-space head cold.[5]: 207 [8]
During later Apollo missions, he served as a consultant toCBS News from 1969 to 1975. He joinedWalter Cronkite to co-anchor the network's coverage of the seven Moon landing missions, starting withApollo 11 (joined byArthur C. Clarke) and including the ill-fatedApollo 13.[5]: 221–223 [17]
Following his NASA career, Schirra becamepresident and a director of the financial and leasing company Regency Investors Incorporated. He left Regency Investors to form Environmental Control Company and served as the company'schairman andCEO from 1970 to 1973.[18] The company merged with SERNCO Incorporated in 1973. Schirra started as vice-chairman, but was elected to chairman of the board later that year.[19] He also worked to develop an Alaskan oil pipeline[5]: 218–221 [20] and was a member of an advisory board forU.S. National Parks in theDepartment of the Interior from 1973 to 1985.[8][21]
In January 1979, Schirra founded Schirra Enterprises, and worked as aconsultant until 1980. He worked for the Belgian Consulate for Colorado and New Mexico, from 1971 to 1984, and was a board member of several corporations including Electromedics, Finalco,Kimberly-Clark, Net Air International, Rocky Mountain Airlines, andJohns-Manville Corporation.[5]: 218–221 [8][20][22][23][24] Schirra was president of the energy development company Prometheus from 1980 to 1981.[24] In 1984, he was among the surviving Mercury astronauts who established the Mercury Seven Foundation, now known as the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, to award college scholarships to science and engineering students.[8][25]
Schirra, along with the rest of the Mercury Seven, co-authored the 1962 bookWe Seven, detailing the training and development of the Mercury program.[26] Along with Richard N. Billings, Schirra released his autobiographySchirra's Space in 1988.[27] In 1995, he co-authored the bookWildcats to Tomcats: The Tailhook Navy withBarrett Tillman and fellow Navy Captains Richard L. (Zeke) Cormier, and Phil Wood. It describes five decades ofNaval aviation, including accounts of combat tours inWorld War II,Korea, andVietnam.[28] In 2005, he co-authored the bookThe Real Space Cowboys with Ed Buckbee. The book is an account of the 'Mercury Seven' astronauts. It follows them through the process of selection for the program, their entire careers, and into retirement. Schirra was also a contributor to the 2007 book,In the Shadow of the Moon, which was his final authored work.[29]
Shortly after being commissioned in the Navy, Schirra began dating Josephine Cook "Jo" Fraser.[8] Schirra and Fraser were married on February 23, 1946.[5]: 15 They had two children, Walter M. (III) and Suzanne Karen, born in 1950 and 1957.[30] Jo Schirra died April 27, 2015, at the age of 91.[31]
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Schirra died on May 3, 2007, of aheart attack while undergoing treatment forabdominal cancer atScripps Green Hospital (currently The Heart Center at Scripps) inSan Diego, California. He was 84 years old.[32][33] A memorial service for Schirra was held on May 22 atFort Rosecrans National Cemetery in California. The ceremony concluded with athree-volley salute and aflyover by threeF/A-18s. Schirra was cremated and his ashes were committed to the sea on February 11, 2008. Theburial at sea ceremony was held aboard theNimitz-class aircraft carrierUSS Ronald Reagan and his ashes were released byCommander Lee Axtell, the command chaplain aboard (see photo).[34]
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Schirra's numerous military decorations include threeAir Medals and threeNASA Distinguished Service Medals, including one posthumously.[35] His first NASA Distinguished Service Medal was for his Mercury flight, and the second for his Gemini 6A flight.[36] He was also awarded theNASA Exceptional Service Medal,[37] theAmerican Campaign Medal, theAsiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, theWorld War II Victory Medal, theNavy Occupation Medal with "ASIA" clasp, theChina Service Medal, and theKorean Service Medal. Additionally, he received several international awards, including aKorean Presidential Unit Citation, theUnited Nations Korea Medal, and theKorean War Service Medal. Schirra has also received civilian aviation awards, including theAIAA Award (1963), theHarmon Trophy (1965), the Kitty Hawk Award, and theGolden Key Award.[20][38]
When Schirra received hisNavy Astronaut Wings from SecretaryFred Korth, the Navy's uniform guidance did not specify whether it should be worn alongside or instead of hisnaval aviator wings. Schirra decided to wear his astronaut wings above his ribbons, and the aviator wings below them.[39] Schirra received theNavy Distinguished Service Medal for commanding Apollo 7. He was also awarded aDistinguished Flying Cross for escortingB-29 bombers during the Korean War, a gold star for hisSigma 7 flight, and a second gold star for flying on Gemini 6A.[40] Schirra, a fellow ofSociety of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), received itsIven C. Kincheloe Award in 1963 along with the other six Mercury astronauts.[41] In 1962, he and the other Mercury astronauts received theRobert J. Collier Trophy,[42] which was typically given to engineers and inventors.[43]
Schirra was a 33rd DegreeMason and part of theAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as afellow of theAmerican Astronautical Society.[24] Schirra receivedHonoraryDoctorates of Science from three colleges and universities:Lafayette College (for Astronautical Engineering), the University of Southern California, and his alma mater the Newark College of Engineering (forAstronautics).[24][44] Schirra was inducted into theInternational Air & Space Hall of Fame (1970),[45] theInternational Space Hall of Fame (1981),[46][47] theNational Aviation Hall of Fame (1986),[48] theU.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame (1990),[49][50] and theNew Jersey Hall of Fame.[51] TheUSNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE-8), aLewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship named for Schirra, was christened and launched March 8, 2009.[52] A street is named after Schirra inUpper Dublin, Pennsylvania, and a park in Oradell, New Jersey.[53][54] There is a Walter M. Schirra Elementary School inOld Bridge Township, New Jersey.[55]
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