Apollo 9: The NASA Mission Reports

Apogee Books Space Series #2

by Robert Godwin (Editor)

Brings together four of the most important documents from the Apollo 9 mission.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 1999

Reviews

[Apollo Archive · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Apollo 9 mission was the first manned flight of all Apollo lunar hardware in Earth orbit and first manned flight of the lunar module. Lunar module pilot Russel L. Schweickart performed a 37 minute EVA. Human reactions to space and weightlessness were tested in 152 orbits.

Lunar Module: Spider

Command and Service Module: Gumdrop

Crew:
James R. McDivitt, commander
David R. Scott, command module pilot
R. L. Schweikart, lunar module pilot

Launch: March 3, 1969
16:00:00 UT (11:00:00 a.m. EST)
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A

Returned to Earth: March 13, 1969
splashdown 17:00:54 UT (12:00:54 p.m. EST)

Mission Duration: 241 hr 0 min. 53 sec.

Retrieval site: Atlantic Ocean 23° 15' N, 67䓸' W

Retrieval ship: U.S.S. Guadalcanal

Highlights/Notes:

The first mission in which the use of names for spacecraft was again authorized.

First test of LM in space.

First test of Portable Life Support System in space.
Rendezvous and docking after 6 hour and 113 mile separation in space.

Schweickart performed 37 minute EVA.

A "D" mission, so the "D" in McDivitt on the mission patch had a red interior which signified the "D" mission.

Space vehicle weight at liftoff: 6,397,005 lb. (2,901,681 kilos)

Weight placed in earth orbit: 292,091 lb. (132,492 kilos.)