apollo 9 Archives

October 18, 2022October 18, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Remembering the Gutsy and Hilarious Apollo Astronaut Jim McDivitt

An image of Jim McDivitt on Apollo 9, March 7, 1969, where McDivitt is conducting the world’s first docking of two crewed spacecraft with internal transfer – a technique that would become critical in the later missions to the moon. The image is from underexposed film and recovered by Andy Saunders, who used it for the cover shot of the new book “Apollo Remastered.” Credit: NASA / JSC / ASU / Andy Saunders.

Former NASA astronaut Jim McDivitt, who commanded the important Gemini IV and Apollo 9 missions – both crucial for NASA’s ability to reach the Moon — has died at age 93. His family said he passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 13, 2022.

May 30, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Watch All The Apollo Saturn V Rockets Blast Off At The Same Time

Screenshot of a video showing all the Saturn V launches happening at the same time. Credit: SpaceOperaFR/YouTube (screenshot)

Editor’s note: We posted this yesterday only to find that the original video we used had been pulled. Now, we’ve reposted the article with a new and improved version of the video, thanks to Spacecraft Films.

To the moon! The goal people most remember from the Apollo program was setting foot on the surface of our closest neighbor. To get there required a heck of a lot of firepower, bundled in the Saturn V rocket. The video above gives you the unique treat of watching each rocket launch at the same time.

Some notes on the rockets you see:

Apollos 4 and 6 were uncrewed test flights.
Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbit flight to (principally) test the lunar module.
Apollo 8 and 10 were both flights around the moon (with no lunar landing).
Apollo 13 was originally scheduled to land on the moon but famously experienced a dangerous explosion that forced the astronauts to come back to Earth early — but safely.
Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 safely made it to the moon’s surface and back.
Skylab’s launch was also uncrewed; the Saturn V was used in this case to send a space station into Earth’s orbit that was used by three crews in the 1970s.
You don’t see Apollo 7 pictured here because it did not use the Saturn V rocket; it instead used the Saturn IB. It was an Earth-orbiting flight and the first successful manned one of the Apollo program. (Apollo 1 was the first scheduled crew, but the three men died in a launch pad fire.)

And if this isn’t enough firepower for you, how about all 135 space shuttle launches at the same time?

Read more about the Saturn V at NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

(h/t Sploid)

All Saturn V Launches At Once from Spacecraft Films on Vimeo.

March 3, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Relive Apollo 9’s Moon Lander Test 45 Years Ago Through Incredible NASA Images

Apollo 9's lunar module, "Spider", during a test in 1969. Credit: NASA

Hard to believe the decades fly by so fast. It was 45 years ago today that the crew of Apollo 9 took off from the Kennedy Space Center en route to a big test of the lunar module. Being March 1969, history shows that it was only about four months later when men touched the moon for the first time ever.

Getting to the moon, however, required making sure that the lunar landing craft was in tip-top shape. This was the first test of the lunar module in space. Apollo 9 astronauts Jim McDivitt, Rusty Schweickart and Dave Scott spent several days shaking out the spacecraft in the relative safety of Earth orbit.

The mission is perhaps best remembered for the first docking of “Spider” (the lunar module) and “Gumdrop” (the command module), but plenty happened during their March 3-13, 1969 mission. You can relive some of the most memorable moments of training and the mission in the gallery below. More information on the mission is available at NASA.

Apollo 9 astronauts Jim McDivitt (front) and Rusty Schweickart inside the lunar module mission simulator at the Kennedy Space Center. Apollo 9 flew in March 1969. Credit: NASA

Spotlights shine on the Saturn V rocket carrying Apollo 9 prior to its launch from the Kennedy Space Center on March 3, 1969. Credit: NASA

The Apollo 9 astronauts walk out to the vehicle that will take them out to the launch pad, hours before launch on March 3, 1969. From left: Jim McDivitt (commander), Dave Scott (command module pilot) and Rusty Schweickart (lunar module pilot). Credit: NASA

The launch of Apollo 9 on March 3, 1969. Credit: NASA

Apollo 9's "Spider" lunar module lies nestled in the third stage of the Saturn V rocket that carried it to space in March 1969. Credit: NASA — Apollo 9’s “Spider” lunar module lies nestled in the third stage of the Saturn V rocket that carried it to space in March 1969. Credit: NASA

Apollo 9 lunar module pilot Rusty Schweickart during a spacewalk in March 1969. Here, he was standing on the porch of the lunar module "Spider." Credit: NASA — Apollo 9 lunar module pilot Rusty Schweickart during a spacewalk in March 1969. Here, he was standing on the porch of the lunar module “Spider.” Credit: NASA

Apollo 9 lunar module pilot Rusty Schweickart during a spacewalk in March 1969. Credit: NASA

Apollo 9 commander Jim McDivitt (right) drinks from a hand water dispenser while lunar module pilot Rusty Schweickart looks on. Photo is a still from a March 1969 television broadcast. Credit: NASA

Apollo 9 commander Jim McDivitt shows off several days' beard growth during March 1969. The photo was taken in lunar module "Spider". Credit: NASA — Apollo 9 commander Jim McDivitt shows off several days’ beard growth during March 1969. The photo was taken in lunar module “Spider”. Credit: NASA

Apollo 9's lunar module "Spider" during a test in March 1969. Credit: NASA — Apollo 9’s lunar module “Spider” during a test in March 1969. Credit: NASA

Apollo 9 astronaut Dave Scott during a spacewalk from the command module in March 1969. The Mississippi River is visible in the background. Credit: NASA

A recovery helicopter picks up Apollo 9 command module "Gumdrop" and brings it to recovery ship USS Guadalcanal on March 13, 1969. Click for larger version. Credit: NASA / Elizabeth Howell (photo combination) — A recovery helicopter picks up Apollo 9 command module “Gumdrop” and brings it to recovery ship USS Guadalcanal on March 13, 1969. Click for larger version. Credit: NASA / Elizabeth Howell (photo combination)

The Apollo 9 astronauts await recovery from a helicopter from USS Guadalcanal on March 13, 1969. The crew included Jim McDivitt (in hatch), Rusty Schweickart (far right, in foreground) and Dave Scott (behind Schweickart). The other people are frogmen from the recovery team. Credit: NASA

The Apollo 9 aboard the recovery ship USS Guadalcanal on March 13, 1969. From left: Rusty Schweickart (lunar module pilot), Dave Scott (command module pilot) and Jim McDivitt (commander). Credit: NASA

March 13, 2013December 23, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Live from 1969: Apollo 9 Returns Home

The crew of Apollo 9: Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot Dave Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart. Credit: NASA

“On the success of Apollo 9 mission hangs the hope for future manned missions to the Moon,” said famous CBS newsman Walter Cronkite. HD TV it’s not, but this is a fun look back at actual news footage from the Apollo 9 mission, which landed back on Earth on March 13, 1969, forty-four years ago today.

The ten-day Apollo 9 mission was the first manned flight of the lunar module and while in Earth orbit the crew tested the spacecraft for lunar operations. The crew included Commander Jim McDivitt, Command Module pilot Dave Scott and one of our favorite astronauts, the Lunar Module pilot Rusty Schweickart.

They successfully demonstrated the complete rendezvous and docking operations and conducted an EVA during their 151 Earth orbits. The mission carried the largest payload at that point in time to Earth orbit.