Almost exactly 50 years ago, NASA launched the first crewed Apollo mission into space. The goal was to test the latest spaceship tech, ensuring humans could survive their long trip to the moon, and the expedition also marked the first 3-person American space crew, as well as the first to broadcast a live television feed.
“All primary Apollo 7 mission objectives were met, as well as every detailed test objective (and three test objectives not originally planned),” crows NASA’s special publication, The Apollo Spacecraft – A Chronology. But its biggest impact is another “first” it achieved, one not mentioned in NASA’s Chronology or its Summary Report on the Apollo program: A mini-mutiny of the mission’s crew.