Apollo 7 was a 1968 human spaceflight mission carried out by the United States of America. It was the first mission in the United States' Apollo program to carry a crew into space. It was also the first U.S. spaceflight to carry astronauts since the flight of Gemini XII in November 1966. The AS-204 mission, also known as "Apollo 1", was intended to be the first manned flight of the Apollo program, scheduled to launch in February 1967. However, a fire in the cabin during a January 1967 test killed the crew. Manned flights were then suspended for 21 months, while the cause of the accident was investigated, and improvements were made to the spacecraft and safety procedures. Apollo 7 essentially fulfilled Apollo 1's mission.