tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post7025306106616006959..comments2023-10-29T06:41:23.910-07:00Comments on Halfway There: Hurrah for SchirraZenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-82158632861081860072007-06-06T21:12:00.000-07:002007-06-06T21:12:00.000-07:00Yes, halojones-fan, Grissom was slated to fly in A...Yes, halojones-fan, Grissom was slated to fly in Apollo. I did know that. My point was simply that Schirra was the one astronaut who really did go into space in all three spacecraft.<BR/><BR/>While you're being pedantic, though, you might want to correct your recollection. Grissom was the commander of Apollo 1, which burned on the pad. Apollo 3 was an unmanned mission.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-6585688778662679162007-06-06T20:37:00.000-07:002007-06-06T20:37:00.000-07:00Pedantry: Grissom flew on Mercury and Gemini, and...Pedantry: Grissom flew on Mercury and Gemini, and would have flown on Apollo if he hadn't died in Apollo 3.halojones-fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05473935330204075559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-73624350139908716532007-05-04T18:37:00.000-07:002007-05-04T18:37:00.000-07:00Schirra and his crew came down with head colds dur...Schirra and his crew came down with head colds during the Apollo 7 mission, but completed the mission successfully with the assistance of Actifed. When he retired from spaceflight, Schirra signed on to make ads touting Actifed.<BR/><BR/>Your father's recollection is not completely amiss, although I would say it's not entirely fair to Schirra. He was a very task-oriented astronaut and chafed at the interruptions of NASA's p.r. people, who wanted Wally and crew to do a happy-talk live telecast when they still trying to complete their mission checklists. Schirra really didn't like those "Hi, mom" moments on the videocam and felt they were given too high a priority. NASA, of course, knew that people were eager to see live telecasts from orbit and would be more likely to support the space program if they got what they wanted. Schirra understood this, but was always much more willing to do p.r. stuff when on the ground and not during what he considered critical mission phases. For example, check out this posed <A HREF="http://www.wallyschirra.com/images/wally-vette.jpg" REL="nofollow">pic</A> of Schirra and his Apollo 7 crew decked out as flyboys with long white scarves and Schirra himself behind the wheel of a Corvette.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-15789572031024031762007-05-04T18:08:00.000-07:002007-05-04T18:08:00.000-07:00I recall a time when Wally did TV ads for some col...I recall a time when Wally did TV ads for some cold-relief drug, when my father told me that Schirra was a miserable S.O.B. because, while on a mission, he said he was too busy to bother with a down-link broadcast to the people of the world (or, the U.S., anyway) -- whereas all of his colleagues had happily played along. Does this bear up to your recollection, or was dad making stuff up?<BR/>TR<BR/>PS -- Be careful what you say about my dad. I'll come after you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-91327156131224586592007-05-03T21:43:00.000-07:002007-05-03T21:43:00.000-07:00A very nice tribute.A very nice tribute.PlatoisDerridahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13359099109925868324noreply@blogger.com