S62-05139 (1962) --- View of Mercury Control Center prior to the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) flight of the Sigma 7. Photo credit: NASA

S62-08895 (1962) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Earth-orbital spaceflight, goes through a suiting-up exercise in Hangar "S" at Cape Canaveral several weeks prior to his scheduled Oct. 3, 1962 flight. Photo credit: NASA

S66-53205 (1966) --- Mercury Atlas (MA-8) Sigma 7 capsule on display at the Johnson Space Center. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06634 (1962) --- Static test firing of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Atlas 113D during preflight verification of launch vehicle systems. Photo credit: NASA

S62-07872 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Launch of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) "Sigma 7" mission, carrying astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., pilot of the Earth-orbital spaceflight. Photo credit: NASA

S63-00695 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Earth-orbital spaceflight, leaves Hangar "S" at Cape Canaveral on his way to his scheduled Oct. 3, 1962 flight. Photo credit: NASA

S62-04534 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Landing with parachute extended of astronaut Walter M. Schirra's Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) capsule, called the Sigma 7, after a world orbital flight. Photo credit: NASA

Astronaut Walter M. "Wally" Schirra, one of the original seven astronauts for Mercury Project selected by NASA on April 27, 1959. The MA-8 (Mercury-Atlas) mission with Sigma 7 spacecraft was the third marned orbital flight by the United States, and made the six orbits in 9-1/4 hours.

S62-06008 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Earth-orbital spaceflight, steps from a transport van as he arrives at Cape Canaveral's Pad 14 during the MA-8 prelaunch countdown. Schirra is accompanied by astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. (in white coveralls), MA-8 backup pilot. Photo credit: NASA

S74-33004 (19 Sept. 1962) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr, (right), Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) pilot, discusses the MA-8 flight plan with flight director Christopher C. Kraft Jr., Chief of the Flight Operations Division at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, during MA-8 preflight preparations at Cape Canaveral, Florida. They are seated at a console in the Mercury Control Center. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06002 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Earth-orbital spaceflight, is assisted by backup pilot L. Gordon Cooper into his Sigma 7 spacecraft for the begining of the MA-8 mission. Photo credit: NASA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Interior view of the Mission Control Center during the launch sequence of Mercury-Atlas 8 MA-8).

Held following Schirra's MA-8 6-orbital flight 10/03/1962. (FROM COLOR)

S62-09049 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Aerial view of a life boat from the USS Kearsarge, recovery ship, approaching the floating Sigma 7 capsule for the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) mission. Photo credit: NASA

S62-09050 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Aerial view of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Sigma 7 capsule being lowered to the deck of the carrier USS Kearsarge. Photo credit: NASA

Technicians at Textron in Wimington, MA, work on the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion heat shield carrier structure on May 8, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

S62-06144 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Wide angle view of Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) astronaut Walter Schirra Jr. being removed from his Sigma 7 capsule by Navy personnel. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06175 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Closeup view of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Sigma 7 capsule being lowered to recovery ship's deck. Navy personnel remove the floatation device before opening the capsule. Photo credit: NASA

S63-00693 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Landing with parachute extended of astronaut Walter M. Schirra's Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) capsule, called the Sigma 7, after a world orbital flight. Photo is labeled "Splashdown". Photo credit: NASA

S62-06148 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Close-up view of Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) astronaut Walter Schirra being removed from his Sigma 7 capsule by Navy personnel. Schirra has just removed his helmet. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06613 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Cumulus cloud formation over West Atlantic Ocean north of South American during the fourth orbit pass of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) mission by astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. with a hand-held camera. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06163 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. smiles at medical personnel (out of frame) during a postflight physcial aboard the USS Kearsage, prime recovery vessel for Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) upon which Schirra served as pilot earlier today. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06606 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Cloud formation over Western Atlantic Ocean north of South America taken during the fourth orbit pass of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) mission by astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. with a hand-held camera. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06604 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Western horizon over South America taken during the sixth orbit pass of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) mission by astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. with a hand-held camera. Photo credit: NASA

G60-02461 (1960) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. prepares to enter gondola of centrifuge which is used to test gravitational stress on astronauts training for spaceflight. Schirra became the pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) six-orbit space mission. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06612 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Cloud formation over South America taken during the fifth orbit pass of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) mission by astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. with a hand-held camera. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06607 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Western horizon over South America taken during the sixth orbit pass of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) mission by astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. with a hand-held camera. Photo credit: NASA

S62-06108 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Close-up view of Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) astronaut Walter Schirra Jr. being removed from his Sigma 7 capsule by Navy personnel. Photo credit: NASA

S74-33006 (19 Sept. 1962) --- Flight director Christopher C. Kraft Jr. (center), Chief of the Flight Operations Division at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, discusses the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) flight plan with astronauts L. Gordon Cooper Jr. (left) and Walter M. Schirra Jr., on Sept. 19, 1962. They are standing in the Mercury Control Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photo credit: NASA

S63-07603 (15 May 1963) --- This is the launch of Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) on May 15, 1963, at 8:04 a.m. (EST) carrying astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., pilot. Astronaut Cooper made 22 orbits in 34 hours and 19 minutes, in the spacecraft designated the ?Faith 7". Photo credit: NASA

S63-07602 (15 May 1963) --- This is the launch of Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) on May 15, 1963, at 8:04 a.m. (EST) carrying astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., pilot. Astronaut Cooper made 22 orbits in 34 hours and 19 minutes, in a spacecraft designated the ?Faith 7." Photo credit: NASA

S62-06006 (3 Oct. 1962) --- Launch of the Mercury-Atlas 8 "Sigma 7" mission. Photo credit: NASA

AS08-16-2584 (21 Dec. 1968) --- This is a photograph taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft looking back at the Saturn V third (S-IVB) stage from which the spacecraft had just separated following trans-lunar injection. Attached to the S-IVB is the Lunar Module Test Article (LTA) which simulated the mass of a Lunar Module (LM) on the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. The 29-feet panels of the Spacecraft LM Adapter which enclosed the LTA during launch have already been jettisoned and are out of view. Sunlight reflected from small particles shows the "firefly" phenomenon which was reported by astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. during the first Earth-orbital flight, Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) of the Mercury Program.

AS08-16-2583 (21 Dec. 1968) --- This is a photograph taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft looking back at the Saturn V third (S-IVB) stage from which the spacecraft had just separated following trans-lunar injection. Attached to the S-IVB is the Lunar Module Test Article (LTA) which simulated the mass of a Lunar Module (LM) on the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. The 29-feet panels of the Spacecraft LM Adapter which enclosed the LTA during launch have already been jettisoned and are out of view. Sunlight reflected from small particles shows the "firefly" phenomenon which was reported by astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. during the first Earth-orbital flight, Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) of the Mercury Program.

STS056-151-257 (8-17 April 1993) --- The Atlas-2 payloads are featured in this cargo bay scene aboard Discovery, backdropped against an oblique view of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Shuttle was in an atmospheric monitoring attitude. The supportive Igloo structure is partially visible in the foreground. The canisters for the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBU) experiment are just out of frame on the starboard side of the bay. Between the ATLAS-2 experiment pallet and the aft firewall of the payload bay is the SPARTAN-201 satellite, which was later released from the cargo bay into a free-flying period and returned to its stowage area for return to Earth. Also visible in frame are the MAS Antenna, Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor, SOLCON, SOLSPEC and SUSIM.