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On March 16, 1969 NASA succeeded
in launching Apollo 9. Apollo 9's mission
was to demonstrate crew and spacecraft capabilities. When in
earths orbit Apollo lunar module (LM) would separate from the command
and service module (CSM).
When in Earth's orbit, the Apollo
Command Module docked with the Saturn third stage and released the lunar
module. Once the LM was released, the CSM locked in orbit. Now that the
two modules were locked together, an astronaut went into the LM and
broke away from the command and service module. The LM was maneuvered
1/3 miles out from the CSM and then returned for docking.
After completing all of it's
primary objectives, Apollo 9 began it's journey home. Apollo 9 achieved
many firsts in space like the first test of a lunar module in space.
Also, the first test of portable life systems in space and many more
were conducted on Apollo 9. The command module, Gumdrop splashed down on
March 13, 1969. Apollo 9 achieved all of it's goals as a test for a moon
landing of Apollo 11.
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Quick
Facts
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| Size: |
363
feet tall |
| Weight: |
2,100,000
pounds (2.7Million
kg) |
| Astronauts: |
James
R. McDivit, David R. Scott, R.L. Schweikart. |
| Start
Date: |
March
3, 1969 |
| End
Date: |
March
13, 1969 |
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