The first manned flight of the Apollo program, Apollo 7 launched October 11, 1968, with crew members Walter Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham for 163 orbits of the Earth.

The attached is a section of the Apollo 7 ablative heat shield. Cut from one of several ring sections that surrounded the docking collar of the command module, it was designed to dissipate heat by vaporizing during atmospheric reentry, protecting the area from temperature extremes.