Schirra's Space

by Wally Schirra, Richard N. Billings

One of America's first astronauts and the only one of the original seven to fly in all three pioneering space programs - Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo - Wally Schirra inherited a love of flying and spirit of adventure from his World War I-ace father and barnstorming, wing-walking mother. In this revealing autobiography, Schirra takes an inside look at the early days of spaceflight and the men who captured the heart of the nation.

Genres: Space, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Autobiography, Science

227 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1988

About the author

Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. (March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007) was an American naval officer, Naval Aviator and test pilot, and one of the original seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury, America's first effort to put humans in space.

On October 3, 1962, he flew the six-orbit, nine-hour, Mercury-Atlas 8 mission, in a spacecraft he nicknamed Sigma 7. 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 crewed launch for the Apollo program.

He was the first astronaut to go into space three times, and the only astronaut to have flown in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs

Reviews

[Samuel Proulx · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a lot more about Walter Schirra than about space. Thankfully, he's a colourful enough character in his own right. If you're interested in mission details or technical information, this isn't the book for you. But if a collection of largely personal stories, along with some personal opinion on the state of manned spaceflight, is down your alley, you'll be happy with this one.

[Davina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most of the early astronauts, he's got a sense of humor.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. You get a good feel for the character of Wally Schirra.