Apollo 9

{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right"\n|+Apollo 9\n|-\n!colspan="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD"|Mission Insignia\n|-\n|colspan="2" align="center"|

\n|-\n!colspan="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD"|Mission Statistics\n|-\n|Mission Name:||Apollo 9\n|-\n|Call Sign:||Command module:
Gumdrop
Lunar module:
Spider\n|-\n|Number of
Crew:||3\n|-\n|Launch:||March 3, 1969
16:00:00 UTC
Kennedy Space Center
LC 39A\n|-\n|EVA Length:|| 1 h 8 min 1 s\n|-\n|Landing:||March 13, 1969
17:00:54 UTC
23� 15' N - 67� 56' W |-\n|Duration:||241 h 00 min 54 s\n|-\n|Number of
Orbits:||152\n|-\n|Mass:||CSM 26,801 kg;
LM 14,575 kg\n|-\n!colspan="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD"|Crew Picture\n|-\n|colspan="2" align="center"|

\n|-\n!colspan="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FFDEAD"|Apollo 9 Crew\n|} \nApollo 9 was the third manned mission in the Apollo program. Ten-day earth-orbital mission launched March 3, 1969. Second manned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle. First manned flight of the Apollo Lunar Module (LM).

Table of contents

1 Crew
2 Mission Parameters

2.1 See also

3 Mission Highlights

3.2 Reference

4 External link

Crew

James McDivitt, commander\n*David Scott, command module pilot\n*Russell Schweickart, lunar module pilot

Mission Parameters

\n*Mass: CSM 26,801 kg; LM 14,575 kg\n*Perigee: 189.5 km\n*Apogee: 192.4 km\n*Inclination: 32.57� \n*Period: 88.64 min

Mission Highlights

\nApollo 9 was the first space test of the third critical piece of Apollo hardware-the lunar module. For ten days, the astronauts put all three Apollo vehicles through their paces in Earth orbit, undocking and then redocking the lunar lander with the command module, just as they would in lunar orbit. For this and all subsequent Apollo flights, the crews were allowed to name their own spacecraft. The gangly lunar module was "Spider," the command module "Gumdrop." Schweickart and Scott performed a space walk, and Schweickart checked out the new Apollo spacesuit, the first to have its own life support system rather than being dependent on an umbilical connection to the spacecraft. Apollo 9 gave proof that the Apollo machines were up to the task of orbital rendezvous and docking. Crew members tested the LM and practiced separation and docking maneuvers in earth orbit. The LM ascent stage orbit decayed on 23 October 1981, the LM descent stage (1969-018D) orbit decayed 22 March 1969. The splashdown point was 23 deg 15 min N, 67 deg 56 min W, 180 miles east of Bahamas and within sight of the recovery ship USS Guadalcanal.

Launched: March 3, 1969 from Pad 39A\n:Returned: March 13, 1969\n:Crew members: James McDivitt, commander; David Scott, command module pilot; Rusty Schweickart, lunar module pilot.\n:Command module: Gumdrop\n:Lunar module: Spider

The command module was displayed at the Michigan Space and Science Center, Jackson, Michigan until April 2004 when the center closed. In May, 2004, the command module Gumdrop was moved to San Diego Aerospace Museum in southern California. The LM descent stage's orbit decayed 22 March, 1969 and it impacted Earth. The LM ascent stage orbit decayed and impacted Earth on 23 October, 1981. \nThe S-IVB stage J-2 engine was restarted after Lunar Module extraction and propelled the stage into solar orbit by burning to depletion.
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