Apollo 9 insignia |
Apollo 9 prime crew James A. McDivitt(CDP), David R. Scott(CMP) Russel L. Schweickart(LMP), (Left to right) |
| Launch date | 03. Mar. 1969 16:00:00 UTC(11:00:00 EST) | ||||||||||||
| Mission Designation | AS-504 / SA-504 | ||||||||||||
| Launch vehcle | Saturn V
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| Spacecraft |
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| Launch Pad | PAD 39A | ||||||||||||
| Prime crew |
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| Backup crew |
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| Mission Objective | Demonstrate LM/crew performance. Demonstrate selected lunar orbit rendezvous mission activities including transposition, docking withdrawal, intervehicular crew transfer, EVA, SPS and DPS burns, and LM active rendezvous and docking. | ||||||||||||
| Mission Result |
Because of Schweickart's illness, most EVA's were canceled.
Over the first few days the CSM service propulsion system (SPS) was fired five times to change the orbit to prepare for rendezvous manuevers and test the dynamics of the CSM and LM under thrust. The LM descent engine was also fired for 367 seconds on 5 March. On 6 March Schweickart conducted a 37.5 minute EVA on the LM porch to test the astronaut's portable life support system and extravehicular mobility unit. At the same time Scott performed an EVA from the CSM side hatch. On 7 March at 13:03 UT, the LM, carrying McDivitt and Schweickart, separated from the CSM. It was put into a circular orbit about 20 km higher than the CSM. The LM descent stage was jettisoned and for the first time in space the ascent stage engine was fired, lowering the LM orbit to 16 km below and 120 km behind the CSM. A simulated rendezvous of the LM returning from a lunar mission with the orbiting CSM culminated in docking at 19:02 UT. The crew transferred back to the CSM, The LM ascent stage (1969-018C) was jettisoned and its ascent engine was commanded to fire to fuel depletion, into an Earth orbit of 235 x 6970 km. The LM ascent stage orbit decayed on 23 October 1981, the LM descent stage (1969-018D) orbit decayed 22 March 1969. The remaining four days included more orbital manuevers and a landmark tracking exercise.
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Apollo9 CSM and LM on the Earth orbit.
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[DVD] Apollo 9: Spider Takes Flight Twentieth Century Fox Home Video (February 28, 2004) USD34.99 View details(Amazon.com)
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[BOOK] Apollo 9 : The NASA Mission Reports Brings together four of the most important documents from the Apollo 9 mission. View details(Amazon.com)
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[DVD] From the Earth to the Moon - The Signature Edition Warner Home Video (September 20, 2005) USD70.98 Originally broadcast in April and May of 1998, the epic miniseries From the Earth to the Moon was HBO's most expensive production to date, with a budget of $68 million. Hosted by executive producer Tom Hanks, the miniseries tackles the daunting challenge of chronicling the entire history of NASA's Apollo space program from 1961 to 1972. For the most part, it's a rousing success. Some passages are flatly chronological, awkwardly wedging an abundance of factual detail into a routine dramatic structure. But each episode is devoted to a crucial aspect of the Apollo program. The cumulative effect is a deep and thorough appreciation of NASA's monumental achievement. With the help of a superlative cast, consistent writing, and a stable of talented directors, Hanks has shared his infectious enthusiasm for space exploration and the inspiring power of conquering the final frontier. NASA's complete participation in the production lends to its total authenticity, right down to the use of NASA equipment, launch locations, and even spacecraft. The re-creation of the lunar landscape is almost as impressive as the real thing and is further enhanced by the use of helium balloons to lighten the actors playing moon-walking astronauts. (These and other backstage details are revealed in the "making of" featurette, along with a wealth of supplemental materials, on a bonus disc in the miniseries' DVD package.) With a fictional, Walter Cronkite-like TV reporter (Lane Smith) serving as the dramatic link for all 12 episodes, this ambitious production may not be a great work of art. But as a generous and definitive example of nonfiction drama, it's full of the same kind of awe, inspiration, and humanity that led to "one giant leap" in the all-too-short history of 20th-century space exploration. View details(Amazon.com)
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[DVD] Apollo 13 Universal Studios (March 29, 2005) USD14.99 NASA's worst nightmare turned into one of the space agency's most heroic moments in 1970, when the Apollo 13 crew was forced to hobble home in a disabled capsule after an explosion seriously damaged the moon-bound spacecraft. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton play (respectively) astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise in director Ron Howard's intense, painstakingly authentic docudrama. The Apollo 13 crew and Houston-based mission controllers race against time and heavy odds to return the damaged spacecraft safely to Earth from a distance of 205,500 miles. Using state-of-the-art special effects and ingenious filmmaking techniques, Howard and his stellar cast and crew build nail-biting tension while maintaining close fidelity to the facts. The result is a fitting tribute to the Apollo 13 mission and one of the biggest box-office hits of 1995. View details(Amazon.com)
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[BOOK] A Man on the Moon Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 1, 1998) USD10.85 A decade in the making, this book is based on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with each of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who contributed their brain power, training and teamwork on Earth. In his preface Chaikin writes, "We touched the face of another world and became a people without limits." What follows are thrilling accounts of such remarkable experiences as the rush of a liftoff, the heart-stopping touchdown on the moon, the final hurdle of re-entry, competition for a seat on a moon flight, the tragic spacecraft fire, and the search for clues to the origin of the solar system on the slopes of lunar mountains. "I've been there. Chaikin took me back."--Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 astronaut--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. View details(Amazon.com)
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[BOOK] Apollo 13: Anniversary Edition Houghton Mifflin (April 11, 2000) USD16.38 On April 13, 1970, three American astronauts were on their way to the moon when a mysterious explosion rocked their ship, forcing them to abandon the main ship and spend four days in the tiny lunar module which was intended to support two men for two days. A harrowing story of danger, courage and brilliant off-the-cuff engineering solutions which resulted in a dramatic rescue. View details(Amazon.com)
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Apollo 9 - The LEM flies in Earth orbit Apollo 9 Command Module |