Wally Schirra commanding Apollo 7. US astronaut Wally Schirra (1923-2007) commanded a crew of three during the Apollo 7 mission which lasted from 11-22 October 1968. They spent 11 days in Earth orbit, successfully testing the Apollo hardware. This is the ninth day of the mission, and Schirra has grown a beard. All three of the astronauts on this trip developed colds, and became irritable, talking back to the mission controllers. None of the crew were selected for future missions. The aim of the Apollo program was to land astronauts on the Moon, an aim that was achieved in July 1969 with Apollo 11.