Walter Schirra

Walter Schirra was an American astronaut who was born on March 12, 1923, in New Jersey. Before he became an astronaut, Schirra was a Navy test pilot.

Schirra became an astronaut in 1959. He has spent over 300 hours in space on three spaceflights. Schirra is the only one of the original seven American astronauts to go into space aboard three different kinds of spacecraft: Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.

In 1962, Schirra piloted Mercury 8. This mission proved that astronauts could perform maneuvers in space. Schirra made his second flight aboard Gemini 6 in 1965.

Schirra made his last flight aboard Apollo 7 in 1968. This was the first flight of the Apollo spacecraft.

Last modified prior to September, 2000 by the Windows Team

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