Wally Schirra (1923-2007) was an American astronaut and one of the original Mercury NASA astronauts selected in 1959. Born in New Jersey, Schirra grew up with a passion for aviation and became a naval aviator during World War II and the Korean War. He joined the NASA space program and piloted three historic missions, making him the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Schirra piloted the Sigma 7 spacecraft during the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission in 1962, orbiting the Earth six times and demonstrating precise spacecraft control. He then commanded the Gemini 6A mission in 1965, which performed the first space rendezvous and docking with another spacecraft, Gemini 7. Finally, Schirra flew as the commander of Apollo 7 in 1968, marking the first manned mission in the Apollo program. He retired from NASA and the Navy with numerous honors and became one of the first astronauts to enter the business world. Wally Schirra left a lasting legacy in the field of space exploration and made significant contributions to NASA’s early manned missions.