[Apollo 7]

The Apollo 7 mission was an integral step in the space race and accomplished several important precedents. Apollo 7 was the first 3-person American spaceflight, crewed by Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham. It also included the first live TV downlink from an American spacecraft, the first use of the now iconic Saturn rocket to launch a crew into space, and the first time a crew ate hot food in space. The flight carried no lunar module, but Cunningham was responsible for all spacecraft systems excepting launch and navigation. Apollo 7 was essential in testing the spacecraft systems that would put future Apollo crews in lunar orbit and, finally, on the Moon.