Apollo 9

Apollo 9 was a March 1969 human

Apollo 9
spaceflight, the third in NASA's Apollo
program. Flown in low Earth orbit, it was the
second crewed Apollo mission that the United
States launched via a Saturn V rocket, and
was the first flight of the full Apollo
spacecraft: the command and service module
(CSM) with the Lunar Module (LM). The
mission was flown to qualify the LM for
lunar orbit operations in preparation for the
first Moon landing by demonstrating its
descent and ascent propulsion systems,
showing that its crew could fly it
independently, then rendezvous and dock
with the CSM again, as would be required for David Scott performs a stand-up EVA from Command
the first crewed lunar landing. Other Module Gumdrop, seen from docked Lunar Module
objectives of the flight included firing the LM Spider
descent engine to propel the spacecraft stack
Mission type Crewed Earth orbital CSM/LM flight
as a backup mode (as would be required on
(D)
the Apollo 13 mission), and use of the
Portable Life Support System backpack Operator NASA
outside of the LM cabin. COSPAR ID CSM: 1969-018A[1]
LM ascent stage: 1969-018C[1]
The three-person crew consisted of
Commander James McDivitt, Command LM descent stage: 1969-018D[1]
Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module SATCAT no. CSM: 3769
Pilot Rusty Schweickart. During the ten-day LM: 3771
mission, they tested systems and procedures
critical to landing on the Moon, including the Mission duration 10 days, 1 hour, 54 seconds[2]
LM engines, backpack life support systems, Orbits completed 151[3]
navigation systems and docking maneuvers.
Spacecraft properties

After launching on March 3, 1969, the crew Spacecraft Apollo CSM-104

performed the first crewed flight of a lunar Apollo LM-3
module, the first docking and extraction of
Manufacturer CSM: North American Rockwell
the same, one two-person spacewalk (EVA),
and the second docking of two crewed LM: Grumman
spacecraft—two months after the Soviets Launch mass 95,231 pounds (43,196 kg)[4]
performed a spacewalk crew transfer between Landing mass 11,094 pounds (5,032 kg)
Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5. The mission concluded
on March 13 and was a complete success. It Crew
proved the LM worthy of crewed spaceflight, Crew size 3
setting the stage for the dress rehearsal for the Members James A. McDivitt
lunar landing, Apollo 10, before the ultimate David R. Scott
goal, landing on the Moon. Russell L. Schweickart
Callsign CSM: Gumdrop
LM: Spider
Contents
EVAs 1
Mission background
EVA duration 77 minutes
Framework
Crew and key Mission Control Start of mission
personnel Launch date March 3, 1969, 16:00:00 UTC
Mission insignia Rocket Saturn V SA-504
Planning and training Launch site Kennedy LC-39A
Hardware
End of mission
Launch vehicle
Spacecraft, equipment and call Recovered by USS Guadalcanal
signs Decay date October 23, 1981 (LM ascent stage)
Life Support System backpack Landing date March 13, 1969, 17:00:54 UTC
Mission highlights Landing site North Atlantic Ocean
First through fifth days (March 3– 23°15′N 67°56′W
7)
Sixth through eleventh days Orbital parameters
(March 8–13) Reference system Geocentric
Hardware disposition Regime Low Earth orbit
Appraisal and aftermath Perigee altitude 110 nautical miles (204 km)
See also Apogee altitude 268 nautical miles (497 km)
Notes Inclination 33.8 degrees
References Period 91.55 minutes
Bibliography Epoch March 5, 1969[5]
External links
Docking with LM
Docking date March 3, 1969, 19:01:59 UTC
Mission background Undocking date March 7, 1969, 12:39:06 UTC
Docking with LM ascent stage
In April 1966, McDivitt, Scott and
Schweickart were selected by Director of Docking date March 7, 1969, 19:02:26 UTC
Flight Crew Operations Deke Slayton as the Undocking date March 7, 1969, 21:22:45 UTC
second Apollo crew. Their initial job was as
backup to the first Apollo crew to be chosen,
Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee,
for the first crewed Earth orbital test flight of
the block I command and service module,[6]
designated AS-204. Delays in the block I
CSM development pushed AS-204 into 1967.
The revised plan had the McDivitt crew
scheduled for the second crewed CSM, which
was to rendezvous in Earth orbit with an
uncrewed LM, launched separately. The third
crewed mission, to be commanded by Frank
Borman, was to be the first launch of a
Saturn V with a crew.[7]

Apollo spacecraft configuration with

CSM (right) and LM docked

Left to right: McDivitt, Scott, Schweickart

On January 27, 1967, Grissom's crew was
Apollo program
conducting a launch-pad test for their planned
February 21 mission, which they named
Apollo 1, when a fire broke out in the cabin, killing all three men.[8] A complete safety review of the
Apollo program followed.[9] During this time Apollo 5 took place, an uncrewed launch to test the first
lunar module (LM-1).[10]

Under the new schedule, the first Apollo crewed mission to go into space would be Apollo 7, planned for
October 1968. This mission, which was to test the block II command module, did not include a lunar
module.[11] In 1967, NASA had adopted a series of lettered missions leading up to the crewed lunar
landing, the "G mission", completion of one being a prerequisite to the next.[12] Apollo 7 would be the
"C mission", but the "D mission" required testing of the crewed lunar module, which was running well
behind schedule and endangering John F. Kennedy's goal of Americans walking on the Moon and
returning safely to Earth by the end of the 1960s.[13][14] McDivitt's crew had been announced by NASA
in November 1967 as prime crew for the D mission, lengthy testing of the command and lunar modules
in Earth orbit.[15]

Seeking to keep Kennedy's goal on schedule, in August 1968, Apollo Program Manager George M. Low
proposed that if Apollo 7 in October went well, Apollo 8 would go to lunar orbit without a LM.[nb 1]
Until then, Apollo 8 was the D mission with Apollo 9 the "E mission", testing in medium Earth
orbit.[12][14][17] After NASA approved sending Apollo 8 to the Moon, while making Apollo 9 the
D mission, Slayton offered McDivitt the opportunity to stay with Apollo 8 and thus go to lunar orbit.
McDivitt turned it down on behalf of his crew, preferring to stay with the D mission, now
Apollo 9.[18][19]

Apollo 7 went well, and the crews were switched.[20] The crew swap also affected who would be the first
astronauts to land on the Moon, for when the crews for Apollo 8 and 9 were swapped, so were the
backup crews. Since the rule of thumb was for backup crews to fly as prime crew three missions later,
this put Neil Armstrong's crew (Borman's backup) in position to make the first landing attempt on Apollo
11 instead of Pete Conrad's crew,[21] who made the second landing on Apollo 12.[22]
Framework

Crew and key Mission Control personnel

Position[23] Astronaut

James A. McDivitt
Commander
Second and last spaceflight
Command Module Pilot David R. Scott
(CMP) Second spaceflight
Russell L. Schweickart
Lunar Module Pilot (LMP)
Only spaceflight

McDivitt was in the Air Force; selected as a member of the second group of astronauts in 1962, he was
command pilot of Gemini 4 (1965).[24] Scott, also Air Force, was selected in the third astronaut group in
1963 and flew alongside Neil Armstrong in Gemini 8, on which the first spacecraft docking was
performed.[25] Schweickart, a civilian who had served in the Air Force and Massachusetts Air National
Guard, was selected as a Group 3 astronaut but was not assigned to a Gemini mission and had no
spaceflight experience.[26]

The backup crew consisted of Pete Conrad as commander, Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon Jr.
and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean. This crew flew as prime on Apollo 12 in November 1969. The
support crew for Apollo 9 consisted of Stuart A. Roosa, Jack R. Lousma, Edgar D. Mitchell and Alfred
M. Worden. Lousma was not an original member of the Apollo 9 support crew, but was assigned after
Fred W. Haise Jr. was moved to the position of backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 8—several
astronauts were shifted in the wake of Michael Collins being removed from the Apollo 8 prime crew
because of treatment for bone spurs.[15][27]

The flight directors were Gene Kranz, first shift, Gerry Griffin, second shift and Pete Frank, third shift.
Capsule communicators were Conrad, Gordon, Bean, Worden, Roosa and Ronald Evans.[28]

Mission insignia
The circular patch shows a drawing of a Saturn V rocket with the
letters USA on it. To its right, an Apollo CSM is shown next to
an LM, with the CSM's nose pointed at the "front door" of the
LM rather than at its top docking port. The CSM is trailing rocket
fire in a circle. The crew's names are along the top edge of the
circle, with APOLLO IX at the bottom. The "D" in McDivitt's
Apollo 9 space-flown silver Robbins
name is filled with red to mark that this was the "D mission" in
medallion
the alphabetic sequence of Apollo missions. The patch was
designed by Allen Stevens of Rockwell International.[29]

Planning and training

Apollo 9's main purpose was to qualify the LM for crewed lunar flight, demonstrating, among other
things, that it could perform the maneuvers in space that would be needed for a lunar landing, including
docking with the CSM.[30] Colin Burgess and Francis French, in their book about the Apollo Program,
deemed McDivitt's crew among the best trained ever—they had
worked together since January 1966, at first as backups for
Apollo 1, and they always had the assignment of being the first to
fly the LM. Flight Director Gene Kranz deemed the Apollo 9
crew the best prepared for their mission, and felt Scott was an
extremely knowledgeable CMP.[31] Crew members underwent
some 1,800 hours of mission-specific training, about seven hours
for every hour they would spend in flight. Their training even
started on the day before the Apollo 1 fire, in the very first Block
II spacecraft in which they were originally intended to fly. They McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart train
took part in the vehicle checkouts for the CSM at North for the AS-205/208 mission in the
American Rockwell's facility in Downey, California, and for the first Block II spacecraft and space
LM at Grumman's plant in Bethpage, New York. They also suits, which still had most of the fire
participated in testing of the modules at the launch site.[32] hazards the Apollo 1 spacecraft had.

Among the types of the training which the crew underwent were
simulations of zero-G, both underwater and in the Vomit Comet. During these exercises, they practiced
for the planned extravehicular activities (EVAs). They traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for training
on the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) at MIT. The crew studied the sky at the Morehead Planetarium
and at the Griffith Planetarium, especially focusing on the 37 stars used by the AGC. They each spent
more than 300 hours in the CM and LM simulators at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and at Houston,
some involving live participation by Mission Control. Additional time was spent in simulators in other
locations.[33]

The first mission to use the CSM, the LM and a Saturn V,

Apollo 9 allowed the launch preparations team at KSC its first
opportunity to simulate the launch of a lunar landing mission.
The LM arrived from Grumman in June 1968 and was subjected
to extensive testing including in the altitude chamber, simulating
space conditions. As this occurred, other technicians assembled
the Saturn V inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The
CM and SM arrived in October, but even the experienced KSC
team from North American had trouble joining them together.
The launch vehicle for Apollo 9 being When the lander was done with the altitude chamber, the CSM
taken to Pad 39A
took its place, letting the LM be available for installation of
equipment such as rendezvous radar and antennas. There were no
lengthy delays, and on January 3, 1969, the launch vehicle was taken out of the VAB and moved to
Launch Complex 39A by crawler. Flight readiness reviews for the CM, the LM, and the Saturn V were
held and passed in the following weeks.[34]

Hardware

Launch vehicle
The Saturn V (AS-504) used on Apollo 9 was the fourth to be flown, the second to carry astronauts to
space,[35] and the first to bear a lunar module. Although similar in configuration to the Saturn V used on
Apollo 8, several changes were made. The inner core of the F-1 engine chamber in the first (S-IC) stage
was removed, thus saving weight and allowing for a slight increase in specific impulse. Weight was also
saved by replacing the skins of the liquid oxygen tanks with lighter ones, and by providing lighter
versions of other components. Efficiency was increased in the S-II second stage with uprated J-2 engines,
and through a closed-loop propellant utilization system rather than Apollo 8's open-loop system.[36] Of
the 3,250 pounds (1,470 kg) weight reduction in the second stage, about half came from a 16 percent
reduction in the thickness of the tank side walls.[37]

Spacecraft, equipment and call signs

Apollo 9 used CSM-104, the third block II CSM to be flown with
astronauts aboard. Apollo 8, lacking a lunar module, did not have
docking equipment; Apollo 9 flew the probe-and-drogue
assembly used for docking along with other equipment added
near the forward hatch of the CM; this allowed for rigid docking
of the two craft, and for internal transfer between CM and
LM.[38] Had the switch in missions between Apollo 8 and 9 not
occurred, the Earth-orbit mission would have flown CSM-103,
which flew on Apollo 8.[39]
LM-3 arrives at KSC, June 1968
The Earth-orbit mission was originally supposed to use LM-2 as
its lunar module, but the crew found numerous flaws in it, many
associated with it being the first flight-ready lunar module off Grumman's production line. The delay
occasioned by the switch in missions allowed LM-3 to be available, a machine the crew found far
superior.[40] Neither LM-2 nor LM-3 could have been sent to the Moon as both were too heavy;
Grumman's weight reduction program for the LMs only became fully effective with LM-5, designated for
Apollo 11.[41] Small cracks in LM-3's aluminum alloy structure due to stresses such as the insertion of a
rivet proved an ongoing issue; Grumman's engineers continued working to fix them until the LM had to
be mounted on the Saturn V in December 1968.[42] LM-2 never flew in space and is in the National Air
and Space Museum.[43]

The Apollo astronauts were provided with early versions of the

Sony Walkman, portable cassette recorders intended to allow
them to make observations during the mission. The Apollo 9
crew was the first to be allowed to bring music mixtapes, one
each, that could be played in that device. McDivitt and Scott
preferred easy listening and country music; Schweickart's
cassette tape of classical music went missing until the ninth day
of the ten-day mission, when it was presented to him by
Scott.[44][45]
Apollo 9 backup crew training in
Gumdrop After the Gemini 3 craft was dubbed Molly Brown by Grissom,
NASA forbade naming spacecraft.[46] The fact that during the
Apollo 9 mission, the CSM and LM would separate and need
different call signs caused the Apollo 9 astronauts to push for a change. In simulations, they began to
refer to the CSM as "Gumdrop", a name inspired by the CM's appearance while in the blue protective
wrapping in which it was transported from the manufacturer, and the LM as "Spider", inspired by the
LM's appearance with landing legs deployed.[47] Personnel in NASA public relations thought the names
were too informal, but the call signs ultimately gained official sanction.[48] NASA required more formal
call signs for future missions, starting with Apollo 11.[49]

Life Support System backpack

The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) backpack flew for the first time
on Apollo 9, used by Schweickart during his EVA.[50] This included the
Portable Life Support System (PLSS), providing oxygen to the astronaut
and water for the Liquid Cooling Garment (LCG), which helped prevent
overheating during extravehicular activity.[51] Also present was the
Oxygen Purge System (OPS), the "bedroll" atop the backpack, which
could provide oxygen for up to roughly an hour if the PLSS failed.[52] A
more advanced version of the EMU was used for the lunar landing on
Apollo 11.[52]

During his stand-up EVA,[nb 2] Scott did not wear a PLSS, but was
connected to the CM's life support systems through an umbilical,
Schweickart with the life
utilizing a Pressure Control Valve (PCV). This device had been created in support backpack
1967 to allow for stand-up EVAs from the hatches of the LM or CM, or
for brief ventures outside. It was later used by Scott for his lunar surface
stand-up EVA on Apollo 15, and for the deep-space EVAs by the command module pilots of the final
three Apollo flights.[55]

Mission highlights

First through fifth days (March 3–7)

Originally scheduled to launch on February 28, 1969, the liftoff of
Apollo 9 was postponed because all three astronauts had colds, and
NASA did not want to risk that the mission might be affected. Around-
the-clock labor shifts were required to keep the spacecraft in readiness;
the delay cost $500,000.[56] The rocket launched from KSC at 11:00:00
EST (16:00:00 GMT) on March 3.[57] This was well within the launch
window, which would have remained open for another three and a quarter
hours.[28] Present in the firing control room was Vice President Spiro
Agnew on behalf of the new Nixon administration.[58]

McDivitt reported a smooth ride during the launch, although there was
some vibration and the astronauts were surprised to be pushed forward
when the Saturn V's first stage stopped firing, before its second stage
took over, when they were pushed back into their couches.[58] Each of
Apollo 9 launches from
the first two stages slightly underperformed; a deficiency made up, more
Kennedy Space Center,
or less, by the S-IVB third stage.[59] Once the third stage cut out at March 3, 1969
00:11:04.7 into the mission,[60] Apollo 9 had entered a parking orbit of
102.3 by 103.9 miles.[57]
The crew began their first major orbital task with the separation of the CSM from the S-IVB at 02:41:16
into the mission, seeking to turn around and then dock with the LM, which was on the end of the S-IVB,
after which the combined spacecraft would separate from the rocket. If it was not possible to make such a
docking, the lunar landing could not take place. It was Scott's responsibility to fly the CSM, which he did
to a successful docking, as the probe-and-drogue docking assembly worked properly. After McDivitt and
Schweickart inspected the tunnel connecting the CM and LM, the assembled spacecraft separated from
the S-IVB. The next task was to demonstrate that two docked spacecraft could be maneuvered by one
engine. The five-second burn took place at 05:59.01.1 into the mission, accomplished with the SM's
Service Propulsion System (SPS), after which Scott excitedly reported the LM was still in place.
Thereafter, the S-IVB was fired again, and the stage was sent into solar orbit.[58][60]

From 09:00:00 to 19:30:00, a sleep period was scheduled.[61] The astronauts slept well, but complained
of being woken by non-English transmissions. Scott theorized that they were possibly in Chinese.[62] The
highlight of the second day in orbit (March 4) was three SPS burns.[63] The initial burn, at 22:12:04.1,[60]
lasted 110 seconds,[63] and including swiveling or "gimbaling" the engine to test whether the autopilot
could dampen the induced oscillations, which it did within five seconds. Two more SPS burns followed,
lightening the SM's fuel load.[58] The spacecraft and engine passed every test, sometimes proving more
robust than expected.[64] The performance of the CSM in remaining stable while the engine was being
gimbaled would in 1972 help cause McDivitt, by then manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program, to
approve the continuation of Apollo 16 when its CSM was experiencing an unstable gimbal after
separation from its LM in lunar orbit.[65]

The flight plan for the third day in space was to have the commander and lunar module pilot enter the
LM to check out its systems and use its descent engine to move the entire spacecraft.[66] The descent
engine was the backup to the SPS; the ability to use it in this manner would prove critical on Apollo
13.[67] The flight plan was thrown into question when Schweickart, suffering from space adaptation
sickness, vomited, while McDivitt felt queasy as well. They had been avoiding sudden physical motions,
but the contortion-like maneuvers to don their space suits for the LM checkout caused them to feel ill.
The experience would teach the doctors enough about the sickness to have the astronauts avoid it on the
lunar landings, but at the time Schweickart feared his vomiting might endanger Kennedy's goal. They
were well enough to continue with the day's plan, and entered the LM, thus transferring between vehicles
for the first time in the US space program, and making the first ever transfer without needing to
spacewalk, as Soviet cosmonauts had. The hatches were then closed, though the modules remained
docked, showing that Spider's communications and life support systems would work in isolation from
those of Gumdrop. On command, the landing legs sprang into the position they would assume for landing
on the Moon.[68]

In the LM, Schweickart vomited again, causing McDivitt to request a private channel to the doctors in
Houston. The first episode had not been reported to the ground because of its brief nature, and when the
media learned what had happened to Schweickart, there were "repercussions and a spate of unfriendly
stories".[58] They finished the LM checkout, including the successful firing of the descent engine, and
returned to Scott in Gumdrop.[58] The burn lasted 367 seconds and simulated the throttle pattern to be
used during the landing on the Moon.[2] After they returned, a fifth firing of the SPS was made, designed
to circularize Apollo 9's orbit in preparation for the rendezvous.[69] This took place at 54:26:12.3,[60]
raising the craft's orbit to 142 by 149 miles.[2]
The fourth day's program (March 6) was for Schweickart to exit
the hatch on the LM and make his way along the outside of the
spacecraft to the CM's hatch, where Scott would stand by to
assist, demonstrating that this could be done in the event of an
emergency. Schweickart was to wear the life support backpack,
or PLSS, to be worn on the lunar surface EVAs.[70] This was the
only EVA scheduled before the lunar landing, and thus the only
opportunity to test the PLSS in space. McDivitt initially canceled
the EVA due to Schweickart's condition, but with the lunar
module pilot feeling better, decided to allow him to exit the LM,
and once he was there, to move around the LM's exterior using
handholds. Scott stood in the CM's hatch; both men photographed Schweickart during his EVA,
each other and retrieved experiments from the exterior of their photographed by Scott standing up in
vehicles. Schweickart found moving around easier than it had the command module hatch
been in simulations; both he and Scott were confident that
Schweickart could have completed the exterior transfer if called
upon to do so, but considered it unnecessary.[58][71] During the EVA, Schweickart used the call sign "Red
Rover", a nod to the color of his hair.[72]

On March 7, the fifth day, came "the key event of the entire
mission: the separation and rendezvous of the lunar module and
the command module".[58] The lunar module lacked the
capability to return the astronauts to Earth;[41] this was the first
time space travelers had flown in a vehicle that could not take
them home.[72] McDivitt and Schweickart entered the LM early,
having obtained permission to do so without wearing their
helmets and gloves, making it easier to set up the LM.[58] When
Scott in Gumdrop pushed the button to release the LM, it initially
hung on the latches at the end of the docking probe, but he hit the
button again and Spider was released.[73] After spending about 45
Apollo 9 LM Spider minutes near Gumdrop, Spider went into a slightly higher orbit,
meaning that over time, the two craft would separate, with
Gumdrop ahead.[58] Over the next hours, McDivitt fired the LM's
descent engine at several throttle settings; by the end of the day the LM was thoroughly test-flown.[74] At
a distance of 115 miles (185 km), Spider fired to lower its orbit and thus begin to catch up with Gumdrop,
a process that would take over two hours, and the descent stage was jettisoned.[58]

The approach and rendezvous were conducted as near as possible to what was planned for the lunar
missions. To demonstrate that rendezvous could be performed by either craft, Spider was the active party
during the maneuver.[75] McDivitt brought Spider close to Gumdrop, then maneuvered the LM to show
each side to Scott, allowing him to inspect for any damage. Then, McDivitt docked the craft.[58] Due to
glare from the Sun, he had trouble doing this and Scott guided him in. During the later missions, the job
of docking the two spacecraft in lunar orbit would fall to the command module pilot.[76] After McDivitt
and Schweickart returned to Gumdrop, Spider was jettisoned, its engine fired to fuel depletion remotely
by Mission Control as part of further testing of the engine,[2][58] simulating an ascent stage's climb from
the lunar surface. This raised Spider to an orbit with apogee of over 3,700 nautical miles (6,900 km;
4,300 mi).[77] The only major lunar module system not fully tested was the landing radar, as this could
not be done in Earth orbit.[78]
Sixth through eleventh days (March 8–13)
Apollo 9 was to remain in
space for about ten days
to check how the CSM
would perform over the
period of time required
for a lunar mission.[76]
Most major events had
Apollo 9 approaches splashdown in been scheduled for the
the Atlantic Ocean, March 13, 1969 first days so that they
would be accomplished if
the flight needed to be The interior of Gumdrop
ended early. [79] The remaining days in orbit were to be conducted
at a more leisurely pace.[80] With the main goals of the mission
accomplished, the hatch window was used for special photography of Earth, using four identical
Hasselblad cameras, coupled together and using film sensitive to different parts of the electromagnetic
spectrum.[81] Such photography allowed different features of the Earth's surface to appear, for example,
tracking of water pollution as it exits mouths of rivers into the sea,[56] and the highlighting of agricultural
areas using infrared.[81] The camera system was a prototype, and would pave the way for the Earth
Resources Technology Satellite, predecessor to the Landsat series.[82] The photography was successful,
as the ample time in orbit meant the crew could wait to allow cloud cover to pass, and would inform
Skylab's mission planning.[3]

Scott used a sextant to track landmarks on the Earth, and turned the instrument to the skies to observe the
planet Jupiter, practicing navigation techniques that were to be used on later missions.[83] The crew was
able to track the Pegasus 3 satellite (launched in 1965) as well as the ascent stage of Spider.[3] The sixth
burn of the SPS engine took place on the sixth day, though it was postponed one orbit as the reaction
control system (RCS) thruster burn needed to settle the reactants in their tanks was not properly
programmed. The SPS burn lowered the perigee of Apollo 9's orbit,[30] allowing for improved RCS
thruster deorbit capability as a backup to the SPS.[84]

Considerable testing of the CSM took place, but this was

principally Scott's responsibility, allowing McDivitt and
Schweickart leisure to observe the Earth; they alerted Scott if
anything particularly noteworthy was upcoming, letting him
leave his work for a moment to look at Earth too.[85] The seventh
burn of the SPS system took place on the eighth day, March 10;
its purpose was again to aid RCS deorbit capability, as well as
extending Gumdrop's orbital lifetime. It shifted the apogee of the
orbit to the Southern Hemisphere, allowing for a longer free-fall
time to entry when Apollo 9 returned to Earth. The burn was
extended to allow for testing of the propellent gaging system,
which had been behaving anomalously during earlier SPS Gumdrop is hoisted aboard the USS
burns. [30][86] Once it was accomplished, Apollo 9's RCS thrusters Guadalcanal
could have returned it to Earth and still allowed it to land in the
primary recovery zone had the SPS engine failed. The eighth and
final SPS burn, to return the vehicle to Earth, was accomplished on March 13, less than an hour after the
ten-day mark of the mission, after which the service module was jettisoned. The landing was delayed one
orbit because of unfavorable weather in the primary landing zone[87] some 220 nautical miles (410 km;
250 mi) ESE of Bermuda.[88] Instead, Apollo 9 splashed down 160 nautical miles (300 km; 180 mi) east
of the Bahamas, about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the recovery carrier, the USS Guadalcanal,[89] after a
mission lasting 10 days, 1 hour, 54 seconds.[90] Apollo 9 was the last spacecraft to splash down in the
Atlantic Ocean until the Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission in 2019.[91]

Hardware disposition
The Apollo 9 Command Module Gumdrop (1969-018A) is on
display at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.[92][93] Gumdrop
was formerly displayed at the Michigan Space and Science
Center, Jackson, Michigan, until April 2004 when the center
closed.[94] The service module, jettisoned shortly after the deorbit
burn, reentered the atmosphere and disintegrated.[88]

The ascent stage of LM-3 Spider (1969-018C) reentered on

October 23, 1981.[95] The descent stage of LM-3 Spider (1969-
018D) reentered on March 22, 1969, landing in the Indian Ocean Gumdrop at the San Diego Air &
Space Museum
near North Africa.[95][96] The S-IVB (1969-018B) was sent into
solar orbit, with initial aphelion of 80,093,617 miles
(128,898,182 km), perihelion of 44,832,845 miles (72,151,470 km) and orbital period of 245 days.[97] It
remains in solar orbit as of 2020.[98]

Appraisal and aftermath

As NASA Associate Administrator George Mueller put it, "Apollo 9 was as successful a flight as any of
us could ever wish for, as well as being as successful as any of us have ever seen."[89] Gene Kranz called
Apollo 9 "sheer exhilaration".[89] Apollo Program Director Samuel C. Phillips stated, "in every way, it
has exceeded even our most optimistic expectations."[77] Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin stood in
Mission Control as Spider and Gumdrop docked after their separate flights, and with the docking,
according to Andrew Chaikin, "Apollo 9 had fulfilled all its major objectives. At that moment, Aldrin
knew Apollo 10 would also succeed, and that he and Armstrong would attempt to land on the Moon. On
March 24, NASA made it official."[99]

Although he might have been offered command of an Apollo lunar landing mission, McDivitt chose to
leave the Astronaut Corps after Apollo 9, becoming manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program later in
1969. Scott was soon given another spaceflight assignment as backup commander of Apollo 12, and then
was made mission commander of Apollo 15, landing on the Moon in 1971. Schweickart volunteered for
medical investigation of his spacesickness, but was unable to shake its stigma, and was never again
assigned to a prime crew. He took a leave of absence from NASA in 1977 that eventually became
permanent.[100] Eugene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, stated that when it came to understanding
spacesickness, Schweickart "paid the price for them all".[101]

In the giddiness following the success of Apollo 9, NASA did not conduct the "E mission" (further
testing in medium Earth orbit), and even considered skipping the "F mission", the dress rehearsal for the
lunar landing, going straight to the landing attempt. As the spacecraft designated for the first landing
attempt were still being assembled, this was not done.[102] NASA officials also felt that given the past
 difficulties with the LM, there was a need for a further test flight
before the actual landing attempt, and that orbiting the Moon
would give them the opportunity to study mass concentrations
there, which had affected Apollo 8's orbit.[103] According to
French and Burgess in their study of the Apollo Program, "In any
event, ... Apollo 9's success had ensured that the next Apollo
mission would go back to the moon."[102]

See also
List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999
Image of the Moon taken from
Apollo 9 Notes
1. The Lunar Module was originally named the Lunar
Excursion Module, abbreviated and pronounced as "LEM". Once the name was shortened
to LM, NASA personnel continued to pronounce LM as "lem".[16]
2. A stand-up EVA is when the astronaut only partially exits the spacecraft.[53][54]

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U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 1045558568 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/104555
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External links
NASA reports

"Apollo 9 flight plan AS-504/CSM-104/LM-3 Final Report" (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nas

a/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19710011038_1971011038.pdf) (PDF) by J. V. Rivers, NASA,
February 1969
"Apollo Program Summary Report" (https://history.nasa.gov/apsr/apsr.htm) (PDF), NASA,
JSC-09423, April 1975
Multimedia
 Apollo 9: Three To Make Ready (https://archive.org/details/apollo9_three_to_make_ready)
Official NASA documentary film (1969)
Apollo 9 16mm onboard film part 1
(https://archive.org/details/Apollo0916mmOnboardFilm1), part 2 (https://archive.org/details/
Apollo0916mmOnboardFilm2) raw footage taken from Apollo 9
Apollo 9: The Space Duet of Spider & Gumdrop (https://archive.org/details/Apollo9SpaceDu
etOfSpidergumdrop) Official NASA documentary film (1969), OCLC 7682161 (https://www.w
orldcat.org/oclc/7682161)
Apollo 9 images (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/html/as9.htm) at NASA'S
Kennedy Space Center

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