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Apollo 9

Apollo 9 was the third Apollo mission to carry a crew and the first to test one of the most critical pieces of Apollo hardware: the lunar module (LM). For ten days, astronauts Jim McDivitt, Dave Scott and Rusty Schweickart put the Apollo vehicles through their paces in earth orbit just as later astronauts would in orbit around the moon. Prior Apollo missions had attained their own crucial goals as Apollo 7, launched in October 1968, had verified the integrity of the command and service modules and, two months later, Apollo 8 had demonstrated the first manned launch of the massive Saturn V rocket. Now it was up to the crew of Apollo 9 to test the ungainly-looking LM, the third component of the Apollo space vehicle system. The mission would require undocking and then re-docking the LM with the command module (CM), necessary for the eventual lunar landing mission. For NASA, the stakes couldn't have been higher.

Because the lunar module and command module would separate during the mission, requiring each to have its own radio call sign, the Apollo 9 crew nicknamed the two spacecraft. With its gangly features, the LM was dubbed "Spider." When the command module (on exhibit here) was delivered to NASA by its manufacturer, North American Rockwell of Downey, California, it arrived wrapped in a blue covering that gave it a distict candy-like appearance. Fittingly, the CM was nicknamed "Gumdrop."

Launching on 3 March 1969, the Apollo 9 mission was one of the most schedule intensive space flights to date. On 6 March, with mission commander McDivitt in the CM, Schweikart and Scott performed a spacewalk - the first two-man EVA (extravehicular activity) in history. During the 37-minute EVA, Schweikart tested a new spacesuit - the first to have its own life support system rather than being dependent on an umbilical connection to the spacecraft. It was this spacesuit design that astronauts would later wear on the moon. The next day, "Spider" undocked from the command / service module and maneuvered over 100 miles away, testing both the descent stage and ascent stage engines, before a successful rendezvous and re-docking after 6 hours and 22 minutes - the first docking between two piloted spacecraft.

The Apollo 9 mission proved that the Apollo spacecraft and their systems, including the launch vehicle, lunar module, Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack, and the flight control techniques intended for manned lunar landing flights would work. The success of Apollo 9 paved the way for the Apollo 10 crew to take their LM within nine miles of the moon's surface as a dress rehearsal for the eventual historic lunar landing of Apollo 11 on 20 July 1969.

For the American manned space program, Apollo 9 truly was one step closer to the moon.

A Ballet in Space

Testing the Apollo Concept

The magnificent accomplishments of the Apollo lunar landing program were only possible after extensive development and testing of two all-new piloted spacecraft and a lauch vehicle of unprecedented complexity and size. The primary objective of the Apollo 9 mission was to test all aspects of the lunar module in earth orbit, including operation of the lunar module as a self-sufficient spacecraft and performance of docking and rendezvous maneuvers that would be performed in the actual lunar missions to follow.

Apollo 9 comprised a command module (CM), service module (SM), lunar module (LM), and an instrument unit (IU), all launched by a Saturn V rocket. When together the command module and service module were referred to as the command service module (CSM). The CM -- the centerpiece of this exhibit -- and the other principal components of the Apollo system are shown here in the accompanying models.

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Name
Apollo 9 (AS-504)

Launch Location
Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Pad 39-A

Launch Vehicle
Saturn V

Payload
Command service module CSM-104 ("Gumdrop") and lunar module LM-3 ("Spider")

Crew
James A. McDivitt (Commander), David R. Scott (Command Module Pilot), Russell L. Schweickart (Lunar Module Pilot)
Backup Crew
Charles Conrad, Jr. (Commander), Richard F. Gordon, Jr. (Command Module Pilot), Alan L. Bean (Lunar Module Pilot)

Mission Objectives
Demonstrate crew, space vehicle and mission support facilities during manned Saturn V / command module / service module / lunar module mission (achieved); demonstrate selected lunar orbit rendezvous mission activities including transportation, docking withdrawal, intervehicular crew transfer, EVA, SPS (service propulsion system) and DPS (descent propulsion system) burns, and LM rendezvous and docking; all achieved except some scheduled EVAs (due to Schweickarts's illness, most EVAs canceled); access CSM/LM consumables used

Launch
3 March 1969; 11:00:00 am EST. (Launch originally slated for 28 February was held while all three astronauts recovered from mild respiratory illness.)

Orbit
Altitude: 192 kilometers x 190 kilometers
Duration: 10 days, 1 hour, 1 minute
Orbits: 152

Landing
13 March 1969 at 12:01 pm EST; landing point 23 degrees 12.5 minutes North and 67 degrees 56 minutes West (Atlantic Ocean 290 kilometers east of the Bahamas); miss distance 4.8 kilometers; crew on board USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7) at 12:45 pm EST; spacecraft aboard ship at 02:13 pm

Mission Highlights

First manned flight test of lunar module
First in-flight tests of both descent and ascent stages of LM engines
First test of Portable Life Support System (PLSS)
First Apollo Extravehicular Activity (spacewalk)
First two-man Extravehicular Activity
First docking bewteen two manned spacecraft
First manned flight of all lunar hardware in Earth orbit

Saturn V Rocket

The requirement to send a spacecraft to the moon required a launch vehicle much larger than any previously created. The resulting Saturn V was the largest and, for many years, most powerful vehicle in history.

The Saturn V had three stages: the S-IC, the S-II, and the S-IVB. The combination, including the command and service module (CSM) and lunar module (LM), weighed over 6.4 million pounds at launch. The propellants for this vehicle include RP-1 (kerosene) and liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the second and third stages. The five engines of the first stage (1) produced 7.5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. At burnout, the first stage was jettisoned and the second stage (2) ignited. A similar sequence occurred at second stage burn-out, with the third stage (3) taking over. During the launch the three stages burned for nearly 11 minutes, consuming 5.9 million pounds of propellant, placing the spacecraft in earth orbit. At a pre-designated time, the third stage again burned for four minutes, sending the Apollo CSM and LM to the moon.

Command Service Module (CSM)

The cone-shaped command module (4), one of the two units of the CSM, served as home for the three astronauts. It included life support systems, as well as communications, guidance and navigation, and data. It also permitted LM docking and served as a buoyant vessel at sea upon return to earth. The service module (5) provided electrical power and propulsion for course corrections, lunar orbit insertion, and lunar orbit departure for return to earth. The service module was jettisoned before command Module re-entry.

Lunar Module (LM)

The spidery lunar module consisted of the descent stage (6) and the ascent stage (7). The descent stage was a propulsion stage that allowed landing on the moon. The ascent module housed the astronauts and their support systems with propulsion necessary for return to lunar orbit and rendezvous with the CSM after the lunar excursion. When the mission on the moon was completed, the engine of the ascent stage ignites, separates from the descent stage (which remained on the surface), and the ascent stage rockets towards the CSM.

On the Apollo 9 mission, after re-docking with the CSM, astronauts McDivitt and Schweickart moved from the ascent stage back into the CSM. The LM was then jettisoned into a higher orbit. It later entered the earth's atmosphere, and burned up.

Docking Sequence of the LM and CSM

After launch, several critical maneuvers had to take place before the CSM / LM could proceed to the moon. After reaching Earth orbit, the S-IVB, with the CSM / LM spacecraft, made one final burn to place it in a lunar trajectory to the moon. The CSM then separated from the S-IVB and the LM adapter panels were jettisoned. The CSM maneuvered and returned to the S-IVB to dock with the LM housed in the forward adapter section. The CSM then extracated the LM and would proceed to the moon.

The principal objective of the Apollo 9 mission was to test these maneuvers for the first time in earth orbit. In order to evaluate the LM, it separated from the CSM, tested the descent and ascent propulsion systems, and re-docked with the CSM.

THE APOLLO 9 CREW

Colonel James A. McDivitt, USAF (Commander)

Born:	10 June 1929, Chicago, Illinois

Education:	Graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School, Kalamazoo, Michigan; received Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from University of Michigan, 1959; received Honorary Doctorate in Astronautical Science from University of Michigan, 1965

Experience:	Joined US Air Force in 1951; flew 145 combat missions during Korean War in F-80s and F-86s; graduate of USAF Experimental Test Pilot School and served as experimental test pilot at Edwards AFB, California.

Astronaut Assignments:	Selected for astronaut program by NASA; 1962; command pilot for Gemini IV, June 1965; commander of Apollo 9


Colonel David R. Scott, USAF (Command Module Pilot)

Born:	6 June 1932, San Antonio, Texas

Education:	Graduated from Western High School, Washington, DC; Received Bachelor of Science degree from United States Military Academy, West Point, New York; received degrees of Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineer in Aeronautices and Astronautics from Massachusetts Insitute of Technology

Experience:	Entered USAF, 1954; assigned to Soesterberg Air Base in Netherlands, 1956-1960; attended Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School, 1962.

Astronaut Assignments:	Selected for astronaut program by NASA; 1963; pilot for Gemini VIII; command module pilot for Apollo 9; commander of Apollo 15, 1971


Russell L. Schweickart, civilian (Lunar Module Pilot)

Born:	25 October 1935, Neptune, New Jersey

Education:	Graduated from Manasquan High School, New Jersey; received Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT

Experience:	Pilot in US Air Force and Air National Guard, 1956-1963; research scientist at Experimental Astronomy Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Astronaut Assignments:	Selected for astronaut program by NASA, 1963; lunar module pilot for Apollo 9 NASA Director of User Affairs in the Office of Applications, 1973-1979

The Apollo 9 Command Module
TECHNICAL DATA
MANUFACTURER	North American Rockwell Corporation Space Division, Downey, California
SIZE	12 ft (3.66 m) high; 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m) base diameter
LAUNCH WEIGHT	12,405 lbs (5626.81 kg)
STRUCTURE The Block II Apollo command module essentially is a pressure vessel encased in heat shields. Its structure consists of three parts: the forward compartment which contains two negative pitch reaction control engines and components of the earth landing system (parachutes, sea dye marker, flashing beacon, flotation bags); the crew compartment, or inner pressure vessel, containing crew accomodations, controls and displays; and the aft compartment, housing ten reaction control engines and propellant tank. Heat shields around the three compartments are made of brazed stainless steel honeycomb with an outer layer of phenolic epoxy resin serving as an ablative material. The thickness of the heat shield ranges from .7 inches (17.78 mm) to 2.7 inches (68.58 mm). The inner structure of the module is made of aluminum alloy sheet honeycomb ranging in thickness from .25 inches (6.35 mm) to 1.5 inches (38.10 mm).

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