- Selected in 1959 as one of the first astronauts.
- Only astronaut to fly on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft. Flew on MA-8, Gemini 6, and Apollo 7.
- Member of Sigma Pi Fraternity at the Alpha Mu chapter at the Newark College of Engineering (renamed the New Jersey Institute of Technology) Astronaut, Pilot of Mercury-Atlas 8 "Sigma 7" (1962) Command Pilot of Gemini 6 (1965) Commander of Apollo 7 (1968).
- Was a member of NASA's Mercury 7 project, introduced in April 9, 1959, only six months after the agency was established (together with Deke Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper)
- Inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1986.
- Inducted into the Naval Aviation Hall of Fame in 2000.
- 1945 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
- His father was a fighter pilot during World War I.
- His mother, Florence Leach Schirra, went on her husband's barnstorming tours and performed wing walking stunts.
- Logged a total of 295 hours and 15 minutes in space, with a full total of 4,577 hours flight time during his career.
- Loved playing practical jokes and pranks. On the Gemini 6 flight, Schirra and crew mate Thomas P. Stafford reported to Mission Control (completely deadpan) that they'd seen "some kind of UFO" consisting of "a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit" (Santa Claus). Then, they played "Jingle Bells" on a harmonica and a set of sleigh bells they'd smuggled aboard with them.
- Made his first flight, in his father's plane, at the age of 13.
- Served in the Korean War. Received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
- Survived by his wife, Josephine; his daughter, Suzanne; and his son, Walter III.
- During his Apollo 7 flight, he suffered from a head cold. After he left the space program, he did commercials for Actifed (head cold medicine).
- Wanted to name the Apollo 7 spacecraft "Phoenix," a reference to a mythical bird that dies in flames and is reborn from the ashes. He intended the name to be a tribute to the three astronauts killed in the Apollo 1 launchpad fire, but NASA refused his request because they felt that the public might misunderstand his intent and find the fire reference offensive.
- Flew with Donn F. Eisele and Walter Cunningham on Apollo 7, the backup crew for the ill-fated Apollo 1 mission. The flight lasted almost 11 days in October 1968. Except for a nasty head cold he caught, the first test of the Apollo command module was a complete success.
- Flew with Thomas P. Stafford on Gemini 6. After their docking target vehicle, the Atlas Agena, failed to make it to orbit, their mission was delayed until after the launch of Gemini 7. Since one goal of Project Gemini was to dock two spacecrafts, both Gemini capsules maneuvered to within a foot of each other. Schirra almost lost his mission a second time when the Titan rocket failed to fire. His emergency procedure was to blast away from the rocket, but he kept is cool and they launched the next day.
- He was nominated for the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services to Enterprise.
- He was inducted into the 2010 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services and contributions to enterprise.
- He graduated from Dwight Morrow High School and New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey.
- Was a member of NASA's Mercury 7 project, introduced in April 9, 1959, only six months after the agency was established (together with Deke Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper).
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