Mercury-Atlas 8/SIGMA 7
Wally Schirra flies a top-notch Mercury mission
Prime Crew: Walter M. "Wally" Schirra, Jr.
Backup Crew: Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper
October 3, 1962
6 Orbits
Spacecraft Name: "Sigma 7"
Wally Schirra poses with a Mercury model and a world map with an orbital flight path in the background. His father had been a fighter pilot during World War I; Wally, born March 12, 1923 in Hackensack, NJ, was a naval aviator (Annapolis, Class of '45) and Pax River vet, but in Korea, he (like John Glenn) flew with the Air Force as part of an exchange program. While flying Air Force F-84s, he shot down two MiG-15s. Around the Cape, he was increasingly known as "Jolly Wally," because of his notorious practical jokes. But this jovial manner was matched by a tough, detail-oriented test pilot's work ethic. After the problems encountered by Scott Carpenter on the last flight, Wally was determined to make sure his Mercury mission was one for the books. Therefore, he chose an engineering symbol for a name when he named his Mercury spacecraft Sigma 7. NASA Photo.
Wally Schirra, in full pressure suit, prepares to enter the U.S. Navy centerfuge at Johnsville, PA (earlier used by X-15 pilots) during training for his upcoming Mercury mission. NASA Photo.
Mission Control was still in Florida back then. (Circles on the tracking board indicate the maximum range of communications stations along the spacecraft's orbital path.) The Manned Spaceflight Center in Houston was being built around the time Wally flew Sigma 7, but would not be ready to track manned missions until Gemini 4 in 1965. NASA Photo.
October 3, 1962: Wally Schirra is helped into the cockpit of Sigma 7, perched atop a Convair Atlas rocket. NASA Photo.
7:15 AM EST, October 3, 1962: Wally rides the Atlas into orbit. 10 seconds into the flight, the mighty rocket begins a slow roll to the left, nearly initiating the first in-flight abort of the American manned space program, but the guidance system corrects the problem. Otherwise, the booster performs better than expected, allowing it to cut off its main engines two seconds early. By the time the sustainer engine cuts out, Wally is flying higher (176 miles) and faster (17,557 MPH) than any astronaut yet flown. NASA Photo.
The view from Sigma 7 on the 6th and final orbit, looking west over South America. The flight lasts 9 hours 13 minutes 11 seconds, covering 143,983 miles. Wally has some problems with his suit temperature and like Scott Carpenter before him finds the periscope basically worthless, but accomplishes all of his mission objectives, including drift tests of the spacecraft (to see how far off course it will go if he powered down the guidance system) and a two-minute live TV and radio broadcast with John Glenn back at the Cape. Bearing in mind the control system problems Carpenter had, Wally watches his control system propellant quantity carefully, only to see the automatic Rate Control Stabilization System use most of it up on re-entry. NASA Photo.
A Navy frogman works to secure Sigma 7's flotation collar. Sailors aboard the recovery ship, the carrier U.S.S. Kearsarge, reported hearing two sonic booms before Sigma 7's parachute deployed. NASA Photo.
A crowd of sailors watches as Sigma 7 is lowered to the hangar deck of the U.S.S. Kearsarge. NASA Photo.
Wally Schirra, wife Jo, and his kids meet President Kennedy at the White House. Wally would later say that while his visit with JFK was cordial, he could sense that the President had a lot on his mind. What Wally (along with everyone else) didn't know at the time, was that Kennedy had just been briefed on the existence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba....Mercury-Atlas 8/Sigma 7's nearly flawless performance was a welcome relief after the problems Scott Carpenter encounted on Mercury-Atlas 7/Aurora 7, setting the stage for the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9/Faith 7, with Gordo Cooper. But Wally's next flight would be a Gemini mission, Gemini 6, with Tom Stafford. NASA Photo.
