Nov 02

Space Rocket History #183 – Apollo 9 – Lunar Module Maneuvers Part 4

When Scott tried to release the lunar module, he did not hold the button long enough so the lander got hung on the capture latches.

LM in lunar landing configuration. Photographed from CM

LM in lunar landing configuration. Photographed from CM

McDivitt & Schweickart show Spider's landing gear to Scott before they pull away

McDivitt & Schweickart show Spider’s landing gear to Scott before they pull away

LM ascent stage photographed from the CM

LM ascent stage photographed from the CM

Oct 26

Space Rocket History #182 – Apollo 9 – Lunar Module Maneuvers Part 3

On the fourth day of the flight of Apollo 9, Schweickart felt better than expected as he worked his way into the lander to get it ready for the EVA. By the time he had put on the backpack, McDivitt was ready to let him do more – to stand on the lunar lander porch at least.

Lunar Module to Command Module transfer procedure

Lunar Module to Command Module transfer procedure

Schweickart on the porch of the Lunar Module

Schweickart on the porch of the Lunar Module

Scott standing in the open hatch of the Command Module

Scott standing in the open hatch of the Command Module

Oct 19

Space Rocket History #181 – Apollo 9 – Lunar Module Maneuvers Part 2

McDivitt later said that the engine had come on abruptly, but with the tremendous mass, acceleration was very slow – it took the whole 5 seconds to add 11 meters per second to the speed.

Example of the CM's docking probe being removed from the inside to allow access to the LM through the tunnel

Example of the CM’s docking probe being removed from the inside to allow access to the LM through the tunnel

Probe and drogue operations

Probe and drogue operations

Schweickart and McDivitt inside the LM

Schweickart and McDivitt inside the LM

Feb 25

Space Rocket History #150 – Apollo 6: Pogo and the Tang Ceremony

The success of Apollo 4 gave good reason to believe that the Saturn V could be trusted to propel men into space. But NASA pushed on with its plans for a second unmanned booster flight, primarily to give the Pad 39 launch team another rehearsal before sending men into deep space on the Saturn V.  The mission was called Apollo 6…

Apollo 6 patch

Apollo 6 patch

Lunar Test Article

Lunar Test Article

Apollo 6 launch

Apollo 6 launch

Exhaust plume of Apollo 6

Exhaust plume of Apollo 6

Interstage falling away

Interstage falling away

Apollo 6 splashdown and recovery

Apollo 6 splashdown and recovery