Apollo 9: First test oft he lunar module in earth orbitit
Apollo 9: First test oft he lunar module in earth orbitit
The Lunar Module was not yet fully developed in 1968 - the scheduled date for the Apollo test flight on the Saturn V. NASA postponed the test to March 1969. The extraction of the command and service module from the Saturn upper stage and docking with the Lunar Module were practised during Apollo 9. The first separation of the Lunar Module was particularly critical. James McDivitt and Russell Schweickart moved 183 kilometres from the mother craft, jettisoned the descent stage, and fired the ascent engines to return to the Apollo Command Module for docking four hours later. The image shows David Scott in the hatch of the Apollo Command Module.
