NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, part 1 of 3
- Series
- NOVA
- Episode
- To the Moon
- Raw Footage
- Interview with Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, part 1 of 3
- Producing Organization
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Contributing Organization
- WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip-15-zs2k64c753
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- Description
- Program Description
- This remarkably crafted program covers the full range of participants in the Apollo project, from the scientists and engineers who promoted bold ideas about the nature of the Moon and how to get there, to the young geologists who chose the landing sites and helped train the crews, to the astronauts who actually went - not once or twice, but six times, each to a more demanding and interesting location on the Moon's surface. "To The Moon" includes unprecedented footage, rare interviews, and presents a magnificent overview of the history of man and the Moon. To the Moon aired as NOVA episode 2610 in 1999.
- Raw Footage Description
- Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, is interviewed about becoming an astronaut. Schirra talks about his doubts at the time of President John F. Kennedy's announcement of his deadline to go to the moon, and describes his introduction to the space program. Although he was not initially interested in being an astronaut, he was convinced by his peers. Schirra also describes his many interactions with doctors during the Mercury program, who worried about how space would affect the human body, although Schirra says that he was not concerned because he had experience working at high altitudes. The race against the Russians ismentioned, and Schirra explains how the Russian advances in space urged the American team to work faster with experiments on animals and people. Schirra ends by describing the difficulty of doing Rendezvous maneuvers by hand during Gemini 6, although he says that was his favorite mission.
- Created Date
- 1998
- Asset type
- Raw Footage
- Genres
- Interview
- Topics
- History
- Technology
- Science
- Subjects
- American History; Gemini; apollo; moon; Space; astronaut
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 00:14:02
- Credits
-
-
Interviewee: Schirra, Walter, 1923-2007
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WGBH
Identifier: cpb-aacip-4b3999267b7 (Filename)
Format: Digital Betacam
Generation: Original
Duration: 0:14:03
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- Citations
- Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, part 1 of 3 ,” 1998, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed August 8, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-zs2k64c753.
- MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, part 1 of 3 .” 1998. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. August 8, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-zs2k64c753>.
- APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, part 1 of 3 . Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-zs2k64c753