Apollo 9

[adam001d]

41 lat temu, 3 marca 1969 roku, rakieta Saturn V wyniosła kapsułę załogową oraz lądownik księżycowy na orbitę wokółziemską. Celem tej misji były testy lądownika księżycowego przed spodziewanym lądowaniem człowieka na Srebrnym Globie w drugiej połowie 1969 roku.

Logo misji

Lot Apollo 9 był trzecim lotem załogowym programu Apollo oraz drugim lotem załogowym z wykorzystaniem potężnej rakiety Saturn. Był to też pierwszy lot w historii ludzkości, w trakcie którego człowiek "przesiadł się" do statku kosmicznego zaprojektowanego wyłącznie do działania poza atmosferą Ziemi - lądownika księżycowego.

Załogę stanowili:
- James A. McDivitt - Dowódca
- David R. Scott - Pilot kapsuły załogowej
- Russell L. Schweickart - pilot lądownika księżycowego

Załoga Apollo 9 - od lewej - James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott i Russell L. Schweickart.

Start odbył się 3 marca 1969 roku o godzinie 16:00.00 UT. Lądowanie - 13 marca o godzinie 17:00:54 UT. W ciągu dziesięciu dni trwania misji załoga sprawdzała działanie lądownika, symulując różne elementy planowanej misji księżycowej - dokowania, transferu załogi, rozłączenia, indywidualnych testów oraz - ponownego połączenia statków. Wszystkie te testy dokonano na różnych orbitach wokółziemskich. Od ich powodzenia zależały ewentualne późniejsze misje z lądownikiem na orbitę oraz powierzchnię Srebrnego Globu.

6 marca 1969 roku astronauci Schweickart i Scott dokonali spaceru kosmicznego, w trakcie którego przetestowano po raz pierwszy w przestrzeni kosmicznej skafander kosmiczny dla misji Apollo. Skafander ten posiadał własny, niezależny system podtrzymywania życia - ważny element planowanych misji księżycowych.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/1176/as09192983.jpg

Po tym spacerze nastąpiło rozłączenie i oddzielne testy. W trakcie tych testów astronauci McDivitt i Schweickart dokonali między innymi rozłączenia stopnia lądującego i wznoszącego lądownika, symulując lądowanie i powrót z powierzchni Księżyca. Po ponownym powrocie i dokowaniu, astronauci powrócili do kapsuły załogowej, a następnie odłączyli się od stopnia wznoszącego lądownika

Testy lądownika na orbicie wokółziemskiej.

Po rozłączeniu, uruchomiono ponownie silniki członu wznoszącego lądownika, zmieniając orbitę  tego komponentu z kołowej o parametrach około 230 x 230 km na eliptyczną o parametrach 6934,4 × 230,6 km.

13 marca 1969 roku załoga powróciła na Ziemię. Wynik misji pozwolił na kolejne, ostatnie już testy przed lądowaniem na Księżycu - tym razem na orbicie naszego naturalnego satelity. Dokonano tego kilka miesięcy później - podczas misji Apollo 10.

Źródła informacji:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_9
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo9/ndxpage1.html
oraz głowa Kanarkusamaximusa  ( )

[Orionid]

50 lat temu trwały przygotowania do startu Apollo 9

50 Years Ago: Apollo 9 Spacewalk Preparations
Dec. 12, 2018


Left: Apollo 9 crew of (left to right) McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart in front of the Apollo 8 Saturn V at Launch Pad 39A.
Right: Schweickart aboard a KC-135 aircraft practicing ingress and egress from a CM mockup

As Apollo 8 was preparing for its historic mission to orbit the Moon, Apollo 9 astronauts Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot (CMP) David R. Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Russell L. Schweickart were in training for their upcoming flight which would be notable in its own way. At the time planned for late February 1969, Apollo 9 was the first crewed mission to test the all-important Lunar Module (LM), the vehicle that took two astronauts down to the Moon’s surface and returned them to the waiting Command Module (CM) in lunar orbit. On its first uncrewed test flight, Apollo 5 in January 1968, the LM had performed so well that NASA deemed a second unpiloted test flight unnecessary. During Apollo 9, in the relative safety of Earth orbit, McDivitt and Schweickart planned to enter the LM, undock from Scott who would remain in the CM, and fly the LM up to 100 miles away, testing the systems of its descent and ascent stages before performing a rendezvous and docking with the CM and reuniting with Scott. (...)
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-9-spacewalk-preparations

50 Years Ago: Apollo 9 Rolls Out to Launch Pad
Jan. 28, 2019


Left: Rollout of the Apollo 9 Saturn V rocket. Right: Apollo 9 crew of (left to right) Scott, McDivitt, and Schweickart.

(...) International Latex Corporation (ILC) of Dover, Delaware, developed two versions of the Apollo A7L space suit for NASA – one for intravehicular activity (IVA) and one for extravehicular activity (EVA) which included the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack. Both types of the suit could operate under vacuum conditions, but the crewmember wearing an IVA version remained attached to the spacecraft via hoses that provided life support such as oxygen. The EVA version’s PLSS provided the required oxygen during spacewalks away from the vehicle, as would be required on the lunar surface. For Apollo 9, McDivitt and Schweickart wore the EVA version (even though McDivitt was not scheduled for an EVA) while Scott wore the IVA. (...)
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-9-rolls-out-to-launch-pad

50 Years Ago: Mobile Quarantine Facility Tests at Sea and at “altitude”
Jan. 31, 2019


Left: Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) arriving outside of the SESL. Middle: MQF being installed in Chamber A of the SESL. Right: Three test subjects inside the MQF being prepared for the simulated altitude test.

In preparation for the first landing of humans on the Moon, NASA instituted a quarantine program for astronauts and their samples returning from lunar landing missions to prevent contamination of Earth with any possible lunar pathogens. An integral component of the back-contamination prevention process was the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF). Following lunar landing missions, the MQF housed astronauts and support personnel from their arrival onboard the prime recovery ship shortly after splashdown through transport to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Under contract to NASA, Melpar, Inc., of Falls Church, Virginia, converted four 35-foot Airstream trailers into MQFs, delivering the first unit in March 1968 and the last three in the spring of 1969. The first unit, MQF-001, was used extensively for testing, with lessons learned incorporated into the later models. One of those exercises included placing the MQF aboard a US Navy vessel in April 1968 for compatibility testing. Deficiencies uncovered by that test were corrected in time for the second sea trial in early 1969. (...)
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-mobile-quarantine-facility-tests-at-sea-and-at-altitude

50 Years Ago: Apollo 9 Preparations at L-6 weeks
Feb. 1, 2019


Left: McDivitt (left), Scott (emerging from the spacecraft), and Schweickart (right) during emergency egress training.
Right: Apollo 9 crew of (left to right) Schweickart, Scott, and McDivitt, pose in front of a model of a Lunar Module at
the Grumman plant in Bethpage, NY.

Preparations for the Apollo 9 mission continued in January 1969. Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot (CMP) David R. Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Russell L. Schweickart were in training for their upcoming flight which at the time was planned to launch in late February 1969. Apollo 9 was the first crewed mission to test the all-important LM, the vehicle that took two astronauts down to the Moon’s surface and returned them to the waiting Command Module (CM) in lunar orbit. In the relative safety of low Earth orbit, McDivitt and Schweickart planned to enter the LM, undock from Scott who would remain in the CM, and fly the LM up to 100 miles away, testing the systems of its descent and ascent stages before performing a rendezvous and docking with the CM and reuniting with Scott. Schweickart and Scott also planned to conduct the first spacewalk of the Apollo program, and also the only one planned before the spacewalk on the Moon’s surface, to test the reliability of the space suit. (...)
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-9-preparations-at-l-6-weeks

50 Years Ago: Apollo 9 Passes Countdown Test
Feb. 14, 2019


Left: Apollo 9 crew of (left to right) McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart, pose in front of the CM simulator at KSC. Middle: Test subject demonstrates the Apollo A-7L spacesuit and PLSS backpack tested during Apollo 9. Right: Schweickart (left) and McDivitt in the LM simulator at KSC.

With two weeks to go before the planned lift off, preparations were well underway for the Apollo 9 mission, the first to test the critical Lunar Module (LM) with a crew on board. The 10-day Earth orbital mission was planned to launch on Feb. 28, 1969.  Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot (CMP) David R. Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Russell L. Schweickart, the prime crew of Apollo 9, were spending time in mission simulators preparing for the first Apollo mission to test all major components of the lunar landing mission. McDivitt and Schweickart planned to enter the LM, which they nicknamed Spider, undock from Scott who would remain in the CM, callsign Gumdrop, and fly the LM up to 100 miles away, testing the systems of its descent and ascent stages before performing a rendezvous and docking with the CM and reuniting with Scott. Schweickart and Scott planned to conduct the first spacewalk of the Apollo program, the only one scheduled before the spacewalk on the Moon’s surface, to test the reliability of the Apollo A-7L space suit and the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack. The plan was for Schweickart to exit the LM through its side hatch onto the porch, and then using handrails translate over to Scott who would be in the open CM hatch, in a demonstration of a backup transfer path in case there was a problem with the internal transfer hatches and tunnel. Schweickart would then retrace his steps back to the LM.  The crew described the mission to reporters during a press conference at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now the Johnson Space Center, on Feb. 8. (...)
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-9-passes-countdown-test

EDIT 18.02.2024

Practice! Practice! Practice!
#OTD in 1969, the Apollo 9 crew was hard at work training for their upcoming mission, originally slated to launch on Feb 28.
McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart's preparations for the first flight of the Apollo Lunar Module: https://go.nasa.gov/4bJevRO
https://x.com/NASAhistory/status/1758899110696874346

Artykuły astronautyczne

[Orionid]

50 lat zaczęło się odliczanie do startu

50 Years Ago: Apollo 9 Countdown Begins
Feb. 26, 2019


Apollo 9 Command and Service Modules Gumdrop (left) and Lunar Module Spider (right) during preflight testing
at KSC.

The countdown for the Apollo 9 mission began on Feb. 26, 1969, for a planned launch two days later. However, the crew of Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot (CMP) David R. Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Russell L. Schweickart, developed sore throats and nasal congestion so NASA halted the countdown and rescheduled the launch for Mar. 3 to give the astronauts time to recover. Apollo 9 was the most complex piloted mission attempted by NASA to that point and the crew needed to be healthy to accomplish all the difficult tasks planned for their 10-day flight. The most critical tasks were scheduled for the first five days of the mission to maximize the chances of accomplishing them, should an anomaly force an early end to the flight. (...)

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-9-countdown-begins

[Orionid]

This Week in NASA History: Apollo 9 Launches – March 3, 1969
Feb. 28, 2018



This week in 1969, Apollo 9 launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Its primary objective was to perform an engineering test of the lunar module and overall check of the launch vehicle and spacecraft systems, the crew, and procedures. All prime mission objectives were successfully met. Apollo 9 was the second crewed mission to launch on a Saturn V rocket. The Saturn V, developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, is the most powerful rocket to have ever flown successfully. Today, Marshall is developing NASA's Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built, capable of sending astronauts to the Moon, Mars and deeper into space than ever before.

The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.

Image Credit: (NASA)
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/history/this-week-in-nasa-history-apollo-9-launches-march-3-1969.html

EDIT 04.03.23
http://www.kosmonautyka.pl/apollo-9
https://twitter.com/NASAhistory/status/1631678330687614977
https://twitter.com/airandspace/status/1631678846477955074

06.03.1969

Today in 1969, Apollo 9 lunar module pilot Rusty Schweickart performed a 37 minute EVA in Earth orbit. Schweickart was secured by EVA foot restraints known as "golden slippers" during the stand-up EVA from the lunar module "porch."
https://x.com/airandspace/status/1632888814526971906

#OTD in 1969, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart performed a spacewalk on the porch of the Lunar Module to test the life support system that would be used on the Moon 4 months later.
Spider, Gumdrop, Red Rover and the Golden Slippers 55 years ago today https://go.nasa.gov/48KUNCq

https://x.com/NASAhistory/status/1765422095498924371
https://x.com/NASAhistory/status/1633128087515791361

Today in 1969, Apollo 9 lunar module pilot Rusty Schweickart performed a 37 minute EVA in Earth orbit. Schweickart was secured to the lunar module "porch" by gold-painted EVA foot restraints known as "golden slippers."

https://x.com/airandspace/status/1765512204051210393

EDIT 09/11.03.23

7 mar
Today in 1969, Apollo 9 lunar module Spider separated from command module Gumdrop for the first solo flight of the lunar module. Jim McDivitt and Rusty Schweickart flew the lunar module for over 100 miles.
https://x.com/airandspace/status/1633161283175612417

https://spaceandthingspodcast.com/podcast/cgybjw1b5hn6dl2lx0239fnafncywn

[Orionid]

APOLLO 9 / James McDIVITT & David SCOTT & Rusty SCHWEICKART / Les 40 ans


https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_09a_Summary.htm

Galeria zdjęć:


Apollo 9's CSM as viewed from the LM
https://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2019/apollo-9

[Orionid]

50 Years Ago: Apollo 9 Launched to Test the Lunar Module
March 4, 2019

At precisely 11:00 AM EST on Mar. 3, 1969, the five F-1 engines roared to life, and the 7.5 million pounds of thrust they generated slowly lifted the 363-foot tall Saturn V rocket off Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). For only the second time, the giant rocket was lofting three astronauts into space, taking the next step to meet President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth before the end of the decade. Riding inside the Apollo 9 Command Module (CM) at the top of the rocket were Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David R. Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Russell L. Schweickart. The goal of their 10-day Earth orbital mission was to test the Lunar Module (LM), the vehicle designed to land astronauts on the Moon’s surface. The three stages of the Saturn V placed the Apollo 9 spacecraft, still attached to the S-IVB third stage, into a precise orbit just over 11 minutes after liftoff. Weighing 95,231 pounds, Apollo 9 was the heaviest crewed spacecraft placed into Earth orbit to that time. To facilitate communications when the two spacecraft were flying independently, the crew designated their CM Gumdrop and the LM Spider, clear references to the general appearance of the two vehicles.


Apollo 9 crew of (left to right) McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart, pose in front of their Saturn V rocket at Launch Pad 39A.


Apollo 9 crew patch.                                                                             Launch of Apollo 9

Controllers in Firing Room 2 of KSC’s Launch Control Center (LCC) monitored the countdown and the launch. Joining them to view the liftoff was Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, accompanied by NASA Acting Administrator Thomas O. Paine and KSC Director Kurt H. Debus. Once the rocket had cleared the launch tower, oversight of the mission transferred from the LCC to Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now the Johnson Space Center in Houston. There, three teams of controllers, led by Lead Flight Director Eugene F. Kranz and Flight Directors Gerald D. Griffin and M.P. “Pete” Frank, working in eight-hour shifts, monitored all aspects of the mission until splashdown. The capsule communicator, or Capcom, the astronaut in Mission Control who spoke directly with the crew, during the launch was Stuart A. Roosa. The other two Capcoms during the mission were Ronald E. Evans and Alfred M. Worden.


Left: Vice President Agnew (middle) being briefed by KSC Director Debus in the LCC prior to the Apollo 9 launch.
Right: Lead Flight Director Kranz (seated) and managers and controllers monitor the Apollo 9 launch from Mission Control in Houston.

Less than two hours into the flight, during their second revolution around the Earth, the crew extended Gumdrop’s docking probe at the apex of the cone-shaped spacecraft in preparation for the next phase of the mission – transposition and docking. Two hours and 41 minutes after launch, the Command and Service Module separated from the S-IVB third stage and pulled a safe distance away. The four panels of the Spacecraft LM Adapter (SLA) that protected the LM during launch were jettisoned. McDivitt turned Gumdrop around to face Spider, still attached to the S-IVB, and slowly closed the gap between the two spacecraft, completing a successful docking. About an hour later, springs ejected the docked spacecraft from the S-IVB. Ground controllers over the next few hours twice restarted the S-IVB’s engine to simulate a Trans Lunar Injection, eventually sending the spent rocket stage into solar orbit.


Left: LM Spider still attached to the S-IVB stage, just prior to transposition and docking.
Right: The S-IVB stage after separation from the docked spacecraft, with LM thrusters and antennas in the foreground.

Meanwhile, the crew busied itself with pressurizing the tunnel between Gumdrop and Spider, removed the CM hatch, connected umbilicals to power the LM while the two spacecraft remained docked, and replaced the hatch. The astronauts next performed the first of eight planned burns of the Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine, a five-second maneuver that raised the spacecraft’s orbit to allow better lighting for the rendezvous later in the mission. The burn also validated that the docking mechanism between the two vehicles as well as the LM itself were sturdy enough to handle to firing of the large SPS engine. After some housekeeping chores, the crew settled down for their first night’s sleep in space – for the first time in the Apollo Program, all crewmembers slept at the same time, unlike the previous missions during which at least one crewman was awake at all times to monitor spacecraft systems.

The next morning, after their breakfast, the crew busied itself with preparing for three SPS engine burns during the second day in space. The goal of these firings of varying durations was to demonstrate the controllability of the docked vehicles using the spacecraft’s digital autopilot. The maneuvers also changed the spacecraft’s orbit for better lighting conditions for the subsequent rendezvous and docking operations and reduced the overall weight of the Service Module to minimize fuel needed for later firings and the deorbit burn at the end of the mission. The second maneuver, lasting nearly two minutes, raised the orbit slightly. Three hours later, the SPS-3 burn lasted more than four and one half minutes and also raised the vehicle’s orbit. Another three hours later, the 28-second fourth maneuver adjusted the plane of the orbit. Mission Control considered all three burns successful. The crew began their second sleep period in space, in preparation for the following day’s activities that included entering the LM Spider for the first time.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-9-launched-to-test-the-lunar-module

NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project
Edited Oral History Transcript

James A. McDivitt
Interviewed by Doug Ward
Elk Lake, Michigan – 29 June 1999

Ward: This is our oral history interview with Jim McDivitt, June 29, 1999. Jim, starting back early on, you interrupted your college career early to join the Air Force at the time of the Korean War, then came back to college, pursued it with a real purpose. Do you think that your career would have progressed the same if you’d done it the standard way? Started with college and gone all the way through, and then into the military?

McDivitt: Well, I don’t really know. I did it that way because I didn’t have any money! When I got out of high school, I worked for a year before I even went to junior college. I went to junior college while I got a scholarship to Michigan State, I didn’t have enough money to go there. So, I had to go back to work. And since the Korean War started on Sunday and I started my job on Monday, and I was 20 years old, that was—I was prime bait for the draft. And so, I was going to get drafted right away. And, I don’t know. It just turned out perfect for me. So, I might add that, you know, that I went into the Air Force—I’d never been in an airplane. Never been off the ground. I’d already joined the Air Force, was in the Air Force, was accepted for pilot training before I had my first ride. So, fortunately I liked it! (...)
https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/McDivittJA/McDivittJA_6-29-99.htm

NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project
Edited Oral History Transcript

Russell L. Schweickart
Interviewed by Rebecca Wright
Houston, Texas – 19 October 1999

Wright: Today is October 19, 1999. This oral history is being conducted at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, with Russell L. Schweickart, who is known as Rusty to his friends and colleagues. Interviewer is Rebecca Wright, with the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project.

Thank you again for taking time to visit us today for this project.

Schweickart: You're welcome.

Wright: We'd like for you to start by telling us how your interest in flight and in space flight began.

Schweickart: It's hard to say how it began. I can recall several incidents from when I was very young, which kind of illustrate and refresh my memory that my interest started very young, but I can't honestly say any precise thing started it.

I can remember when I was a kid, walking. I lived in the country, on a farm and my parents and I would walk on summer evenings around the local roads. I can remember one time I must have been five or something like that, I honestly don't remember, in that vicinity, and we were looking up at the moon, it was a full moon and fairly low in the sky, early evening, and I remember watching it go through the limbs of the trees.

My parents asked me about it or I said something about the moon, and that was the first time I recall, I think, having said, "I'd like to go there one day," or, "People will go there one day," or something like that. I can still remember my parents looked at me more than a little askance and kind of chuckled and laughed, you know, humoring this little kid. That's my first clear memory of an intention or an interest in people going to the moon and the kind of not exactly ridicule, but patient humor from serious people that was given to me as a result of that interest. (...)
https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SchweickartRL/SchweickartRL_10-19-99.htm

https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/apollo.htm

[Orionid]

LM-3   Spider użyty w misji Apollo 9 był czwartym lądownikiem z serii LM (jednym z 25 budowanych w ramach programu Apollo),  który został wyniesiony poza Ziemię. Następne lądowniki, za wyjątkiem LM4 i LM-7, umieściły ludzi na powierzchni Księżyca.


Lunar Module 3 arrives at Kennedy Space Center for the Apollo 9 mission   June 9, 1968

Wcześniejsze  LM zostały wyniesione na orbitę wokółziemską w lotach:

LTA-10R      Apollo 4        9 listopada 1967
LM-1           Apollo 5      22 stycznia  1968
LTA-2R        Apollo 6       4 kwietnia 1968
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Lunar_Module

Był to jedyny start  Saturna V, który  dostarczył załogę tylko na orbitę wokółziemską.


Liftoff of Apollo 9   March 3, 1969

[Orionid]

Apollo 9 crew posing in front of Apollo 8 launch vehicle   December 1968     David Scott at Pad 39 during emergency escape test   January 15, 1969


Preparing to ride the cab down the slide wire emergency egress system at pad 39-A are Chuck Billings, KSC Safety Office; Astronaut Stuart Roosa; and Art Porcher, Design Engineering.   January 25, 1969


Apollo 9 Commander James A. McDivitt, left, points to flight chart detailing exercise performed in mission simulators with Command Module Pilot David R. Scott, center, and Russell L. Schweickart   March 1, 1969


Apollo 9 Commander James A. McDivitt leads crewmen David R. Scott and Russell L. Schweickart through hallway of Manned Spacecraft Operations Building en route to transfer van for 8-mile trip to launch pad   March 3, 1969


Apollo 9 astronauts, l-r, Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David R. Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Russell L. Schweickart leave crew quarters building en route to transfer van which carried them to launch pad   March 3, 1969


Apollo 9 crew boarding transfer van on launch day   March 3, 1969

[Orionid]

The lunar module awaits extraction from Apollo 9's S-IVB stage   March 3, 1969


Apollo 9 CMP Dave Scott in the CM hatch during EVA   March 6, 1969


view of docked CSM from LM porch


Dave Scott in CM hatch during EVA


The Apollo 9 Lunar Module during its flight test in Earth orbit March 7, 1969


The Apollo 9 Lunar Module ascent stage during rendezvous exercises   March 7, 1969

[Orionid]

view of thunderhead from Apollo 9


view of CSM and Earth from LM


The Apollo 9 Command Module nears splashdown   March 13, 1969

[Orionid]

The Apollo 9 spacecraft carrying astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart partially submerged as it impacts in the Atlantic ocean, 780 nautical miles southeast of Cape Kennedy.   March 13, 1969


Pararescuemen at CM wave to helicopter following Apollo 9 splashdown  March 13, 1969


Apollo 9 astronauts depart recovery helicopter aboard U.S.S. Guadalcanal  March 13, 1969


Schweickart, Scott and McDivitt aboard U.S.S. Guadalcanal following Apollo 9 mission   March 13, 1969


(description not yet available)   March 13, 1969


(description not yet available)   March 13, 1969


Apollo 9 CM aboard the U.S.S. Guadalcanal after recovery   March 13, 1969

http://www.apolloarchive.com/apollo_gallery.html

[Orionid]

Wcześniejsze  LM zostały wyniesione na orbitę wokółziemską w lotach:

LTA-10R      Apollo 4        9 listopada 1967
LM-1           Apollo 5       22 stycznia  1968
LTA-2R        Apollo 6        4 kwietnia 1968
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Lunar_Module

Wątek  i posty dotyczące bezzałogowych startów Apollo z udziałem LM

Apollo 4 http://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=3042.msg111381#msg111381
Apollo 5 http://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=800.msg114392#msg114392
Apollo 6 http://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=800.msg117026#msg117026

[Orionid]

50 lat temu odbył się 10 amerykański spacer kosmiczny, a jednocześnie pierwszy w programie Apollo,  a także  pierwszy z udziałem dwóch amerykańskich astronautów. Nie wszystko odbyło się jednak zgodnie z pierwotnymi planami.

06.03.1969 o 16:03 Schweickart otworzył w lądowniku LM właz przeznaczony do wyjścia na powierzchnię Księżyca i w kilkanaście minut później opuścił jego wnętrze. W związku z problemami zdrowotnymi pilota lądownika zmieniono zaplanowany przebieg działań na zewnątrz połączonych statków. Odwołano przejście przez otwarty kosmos z LM do włazu CM i z powrotem , a ograniczono się jedynie do symulacji tej operacji na zewnątrz samego LM-a. Po raz pierwszy astronauta amerykański korzystał z plecakowego systemu podtrzymywania życia, a do statku umocowany był jedynie 8-metrową liną nylonowa. Tymczasem o 17:02 pilot sekcji dowodzenia otwarł właz na jej powierzchni i częściowo wysunął się z niego. Po zakończeniu EVA Schweickart powrócił do wnętrza lądownika o 17:46, a Scott do CM o 17:49.
http://lk.astronautilus.pl/loty/a9.htm

50 Years Ago: Spider, Gumdrop, and Red Rover in Space
March 6, 2019


Outside the Mission Control Visitors Gallery (from left to right) John Glenn, first American to orbit the Earth, Pat McDivitt, MSC Director of Engineering Max Faget, Lurton Scott, and Claire Schweickart.

The third day in space for the Apollo 9 crew of Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David R. Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Russell L. Schweickart proved to be extremely busy. The major task ahead of them was the initial activation of the Lunar Module (LM) Spider. Schweickart was first to float through the tunnel from the Command Module (CM), followed about an hour later by McDivitt. The two closed the hatch behind them and began bringing the LM’s systems to life, including extending the vehicle’s four landing legs.  McDivitt informed Mission Control that Schweickart had experienced symptoms of space motion sickness, including vomiting twice, but that he now felt better. Mission Control, in consultation with flight surgeons and the crew, agreed that the mission could continue as planned, but out of an abundance of caution the spacewalk scheduled for the next day would be curtailed. Instead of translating to Gumdrop and back as originally planned, Schweickart would remain on Spider’s front porch to evaluate the spacesuit and the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack. Schweickart and McDivitt then began the first TV transmission of the mission, a seven-minute broadcast showing the duo in the confined space of the LM. (...)

The Apollo 9 crewmembers began their fourth day in space by donning their spacesuits after their sleep period, and Schweicakrt and McDivitt once again transferred to Spider, closing the hatch behind them. Once in the LM, Schweickart, fully recovered from his earlier illness, donned the PLSS which provided him with oxygen during his spacewalk. Scott received his life support via umbilicals connected to the CM and McDivitt similarly was using the LM’s life support system. McDivitt depressurized Spider, and minutes late Scott did the same with Gumdrop. Schweickart floated out through the LM’s side hatch onto the front porch, exclaiming “Hey, this is like spectacular.” He placed his feet into specialized gold-painted foot restraints dubbed the “golden slippers.” Scott then opened the CM side hatch and floated partway out of the spacecraft. The two spacewalkers could clearly see each other, and began filming and taking photographs of their activities. Mission Control was now essentially communicating with three different parties, with Schweickart picking up the callsign Red Rover, a nod to his red hair. Scott retrieved some thermal samples from the outside of Gumdrop. Schweickart did the same from the outside of Spider and tested out the handrails near the hatch and found them to be easy for maneuvering. With those activities concluded, Scott and Schweickart reentered their respective vehicles, and closed and locked the hatches. They had each spent about 37 minutes outside.  Mission Control considered this first, and the only one before the Moon landing, test of the spacesuits and PLSS a complete success.  (...)

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-spider-gumdrop-and-red-rover-in-space

[Orionid]

Powrót załogi Apollo 9 na Ziemię  13 marca 1969 roku,  po bardzo owocnej misji, oznaczał jednocześnie rozpoczęcie ponad 4-letniej przerwy w bliskoziemskich jedynie załogowych lotach Amerykanów.

The main parachutes just opened at about 10,000 feet (about 3 km), this will slow the rate of descent of the command module from around 175 miles per hour (282 kph) to just 22 miles per hour (35 kph).


Splashdown! The flight of Apollo 9 ends in the Atlantic Ocean, after 10 days, 1 hour and 54 seconds.


Swimmers and flotation collar deployed from Recovery 3 helicopter, piloted by Commander George M. Rankin, Jr., copilot Lieutenant Rufus O. Edison, Jr.; crew are David E. Morris and Steven K. Hanigan.


Rusty Schweickart is just about to climb into one of the rafts. Dave Scott is seated in the other raft. Jim McDivitt is still inside the spacecraft.


Jim McDivitt is standing in the hatch of the spacecraft. Dave Scott is taking a picture of McDivitt from one of the rafts, and he is sitting beside Rusty Schweickart.


Flight crew are all aboard the recovery helicopter. Photo shows McDivitt in a Billy Pugh rescue net earlier as he was being winched aboard the helicopter.


Flight crew have just arrived aboard the U.S.S. Guadalcanal recovery ship.

Jim McDivitt has bilaterial aerotitus media, inflammation or bleeding in the middle ear from sudden air pressure changes. He will be treated with decongestant therapy.

"The epic flight of Apollo Nine will be recorded in history as ten days that thrilled the world. You have by your courage and your skill helped to shape the future of man in space."
Telegram today from U.S. President Richard Nixon.

"Knowing that the dining in Apollo Nine, while nourishing, lacked some of the amenities of earth-bound dining, Mrs. Nixon and I invite you and your wives to have dinner with us at the White House at 8:00 Thursday Evening, the twenty-seventh of March." -- Nixon


The Apollo 9 astronauts prepare to cut a cake baked in their honor aboard the U.S.S. Guadalcanal. The cake weighs 350 pounds (159 kg). The occasion is being observed by Guadalcanal's commanding officer Captain Roy M. Sudduth.

https://twitter.com/apollo_50th

[Orionid]

Nagranie z powrotu załogi