Captain Walter M. Schirra was one of the seven astronauts named by NASA in April 1959. On October 3, 1962 he piloted the six orbit Sigma 7 Mercury flight which lasted 9 hours and 15 minutes. The spacecraft attained a velocity of 17,557 miles per hour at an altitude of 175 statue miles and traveled almost 144,000 statue miles before re-entry into the earth'a atmosphere. Recovery of the Sigma 7 spacecraft occured in the Pacific ocean about 275 miles northeast of midway island.