Apollo 9
David Scott performs an EVA from Command Module Gumdrop, seen from docked Lunar Module Spider
|
|
| Mission type | Lunar Module test flight |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID |
|
| SATCAT no. |
|
| Mission duration | 10 days, 1 hours, 54 seconds |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft |
|
| Manufacturer |
|
| Launch mass | 95,231 pounds (43,196 kg) |
| Landing mass | 11,094 pounds (5,032 kg) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 |
| Members | |
| Callsign |
|
| EVAs | 1 |
| EVA duration | 77 minutes |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 3, 1969, 16:00:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Saturn V SA-504 |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Recovered by | USS Guadalcanal |
| Decay date | October 23, 1981 (LM) |
| Landing date | March 13, 1969, 17:00:54 UTC |
| Landing site | North Atlantic Ocean 23°15′N 67°56′W / 23.250°N 67.933°W |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee | 204 kilometers (127 mi) |
| Apogee | 497 kilometers (309 mi) |
| Inclination | 33.8 degrees |
| Period | 91.55 minutes |
| Epoch | March 5, 1969 |
| Docking with LM | |
| Docking date | March 3, 1969, 19:01:59 UTC |
| Undocking date | March 7, 1969, 12:39:06 UTC |
| Docking with LM Ascent Stage | |
| Docking date | March 7, 1969, 19:02:26 UTC |
| Undocking date | March 7, 1969, 21:22:45 UTC |
|
 Left to right: McDivitt, Scott, Schweickart |
|
Apollo 9 was the third manned mission in the United States Apollo space program and the first flight of the Command/Service Module (CSM) with the Lunar Module (LM, pronounced "lem"). Its three-person crew, consisting of Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart, spent ten days in low Earth orbit testing several aspects critical to landing on the Moon, including the LM engines, backpack life support systems, navigation systems, and docking maneuvers. The mission was the second manned launch of a Saturn V rocket.
After launching on March 3, 1969, the crewmen performed the first manned flight of a LM, the first docking and extraction of a LM, two spacewalks (EVA), and the second docking of two manned spacecraft—two months after the Soviets performed a spacewalk crew transfer between Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5. The mission proved the LM worthy of manned spaceflight. Further tests on the Apollo 10 mission would prepare the LM for its ultimate goal, landing on the Moon. They returned to Earth on March 13, 1969.
* Williams was killed in October 1967 when the T-38 he was flying crashed near Tallahassee, and was replaced with Alan L. Bean.
...
Wikipedia