The Descriptive Finding Guide for the Wally Schirra Digital Only Photo Collection SDASM.SC.30000
Alan Renga
San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
2024
2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park
San Diego 92101
Business Number: (619) 234-8291
Fax Number: (619) 233-4525
Contributing Institution:
San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
Title: Wally Schirra Digital Only Photo Collection
source:
Schirra, Wally
Identifier/Call Number: SDASM.SC.30000
Identifier/Call Number: 176
Physical Description:
80 Gigabytes
2,354 digitized images stored in the Library Server under Bord Digital Special Collection (SC.30000 Series). These images
were digitized from albums that are on loan from the Schirra family, and may still be donated.
2,354 digitized images stored in the Library Server under Bord Digital Special Collection (SC.30000 Series). These images
were digitized from albums that are on loan from the Schirra family, and may still be donated.
Date (inclusive): 1923-2007
Abstract: Walter Marty "Wally" Schirra, Jr., was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and one of
the original seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury.
Language of Material:
English
.
The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Some copyright may be reserved. Consult with the library director for more information.
[Item], [Filing Unit], [Series Title], [Subgroups], [Record Group Title and Number], [Repository "San Diego Air & Space Museum
Library & Archives"]
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The materials in this Collection were loaned to the San Diego Air and Space Museum for digitization.
2,354 digitized images stored in the Library Server under Bord Digital Special Collection (SC.30000 Series). These images
were digitized from albums that are on loan from the Schirra family, and may still be donated.
Captain Schirra was one of the seven Mercury Astronauts named by NASA in April 1959. On October 3, 1962; he piloted the six
orbit Sigma 7 Mercury flight; a flight which lasted 9 hours, 15 minutes. The spacecraft attained a velocity of 17,557 miles
per hour at an altitude of 175 statue miles and traveled almost 144,000 statute miles before re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.
Recovery of the Sigma 7 spacecraft occurred in the Pacific Ocean about 275 miles northeast of Midway Island.
Schirra next served as backup command pilot for the Gemini III Mission and on December 15-16, occupied the Command Pilot seat
on the history-making Gemini 6 flight. The highlight of this mission was a successful rendezvous of Gemini 6 with the already
orbiting Gemini 7 spacecraft, thus, accomplishing the first rendezvous of two manned maneuverable spacecraft and establishing
another space first for the United States. Known as a "text book" pilot, Schirra remained in the spacecraft following his
Mercury and Gemini flight and is the first Astronaut to be brought aboard recovery ships twice in this manner. With him on
Gemini 6, was Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford.
He was the Command Pilot on Apollo VII, the first manned flight test of the three direction United States spacecraft. Apollo
VII began on October 11, 1968, with Command Module Pilot Donn F. Eisele and Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham. Schirra
participated in, and executed, maneuvers enabling crew members to perform exercises in transposition and docking and orbit
rendezvous with the S-IVB stage from the Saturn IB launch vehicle. The mission completed eight successful tests and maneuvering
ignitions of the service module propulsion engine, measured the accuracy of performance of all spacecraft systems, and provided
the first effective television transmission of on-board crew activities. Apollo VII was placed in an orbit with an apogee
of 153.5 nautical miles and a perigee of 122.6 nautical miles.
The 260 hour 4.5 million mile shake down flight was concluded on October 22, with splashdown occurring in the Atlantic some
8 miles from the carrier Essex (only 3/10 of a mile from the originally predicted aiming point). Captain Schirra has logged
a total of 295 hours and 15 minutes in space. He is unique in that he is the only Astronaut to have flown Mercury, Gemini,
and Apollo.
SDASM Space related subject files.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mercury Space Program
Project Apollo
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Gemini Space Program
Schirra, Wally
Project Apollo (U.S.)