On this day in space! Oct. 11, 1968: Apollo 7 launches into space, NASA's 1st Apollo astronaut crew in orbit
I like that Apollo 7 tends to get overshadowed by the Moon landings, because it was the mission that made those landings possible. The crew didn't go anywhere exotic. They just circled Earth for nearly eleven days, testing a spacecraft that had already killed three astronauts on the ground. That makes it one of the bravest flights in the program, in my book.
What matters to me is the timing. Apollo 7 launched less than two years after the Apollo 1 fire, and it had to work almost perfectly or the whole lunar program would have stalled. Schirra, Eisele and Cunningham were essentially proving that NASA could still fly people safely after a national tragedy. The fact that they argued with mission control over a head cold only makes them more human.
I'd want to know more about what the crew felt when they splashed down, knowing they had just cleared the way for Apollo 8 to try the Moon two months later. That must have been a strange mix of relief and anticipation. It's a good reminder that every giant leap starts with a careful, anxious step in the right direction.