Today in History - 1968

Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, is launched with astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Donn F. Eisele; and Walter Cunningham aboard. Under the command of Schirra, the crew of Apollo 7 conducted an 11-day orbit of Earth, during which the crew transmitted the first live television broadcasts from orbit. The crew also successfully performed a docking maneuver with a lunar module as preparation for the future manned lunar landing, which was accomplished by Apollo 11 in 1969.