Apollo 9 Totally Explained

Everything about Apollo 9 totally explained

Apollo 9 was the first manned flight of the Command/Service Module (CSM) along with the Lunar Module (LM) . Its three-man crew of Mission Commander Jim McDivitt, Command Module Pilot Dave Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart tested 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, and was the third manned mission of the Apollo Program.
After launching on March 3, 1969, the crew spent ten days in low Earth orbit. They performed the first manned flight of a LM, the first docking and extraction of a LM, a two man spacewalk, and the first docking of two manned spacecraft. 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.

Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.

James A. McDivitt (2) - Commander
David R. Scott (2) - Command Module Pilot
Russell L. Schweickart (1) - Lunar Module Pilot

As with Apollo 8 Before it, The crew of Apollo 9 consisted of two Gemini veterans and one rookie.

Backup crew

Charles Conrad, Jr - Commander

Richard F. Gordon, Jr. - Command Module Pilot

Alan L. Bean - Lunar Module Pilot Originally Clifton Williams was the lunar module pilot for the backup crew. He died on October 5, 1967, in a T-38 crash. His spot was given to Alan Bean. Later, when the backup crew flew Apollo 12, a fourth star was added to their mission patch in remembrance of him.

Support crew

Fred W. Haise, Jr

Jack R. Lousma

Edgar D. Mitchell

Alfred M. Worden

Flight directors

Gene Kranz, White team

Gerald Griffin, Gold team

Pete Frank, Orange team

Mission parameters

Mass: CSM 26,801 kg; LM 14,575 kg

Perigee: 189.5 km

Apogee: 192.4 km

Inclination: 32.57°

Period: 88.64 min

LM - CSM docking

Undocked: March 7, 1969 - 12:39:36 UTC

Re-docked:March 7, 1969 - 19:02:26 UTC

EVA

Schweickart - EVA - LM forward hatch

Start: March 6, 1969, 16:45:00 UTC
End: March 6, 1969, 17:52:00 UTC
Duration: 1 hour, 07 minutes

Scott - EVA - CM side hatch

Start: March 6, 1969, 17:01:00 UTC
End: March 6, 1969, 18:02:00 UTC
Duration: 1 hour, 01 minute

Further Information

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