Wally Schirra (1923-2007), US astronaut, in his Mercury program spacesuit. Schirra piloted the Sigma 7 spacecraft that launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, on 3 October 1962, in the Mercury 8 mission. He orbited the Earth six times in the spacecraft during the nine hour 13 minute flight. Schirra went on to pilot the Gemini 6A mission in 1965, and command the Apollo 7 mission in 1968. He was the only man to fly in all three of the USA's first three space programs.