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Aviation History
1969
1969 - 1704.PDF
FLIGHT International, 20 March 1969 APOLLO 9— ATOTAL SUCCESS The Apollo 9 command module, suspended by its three huge orange and white parachutes, splashed into the Atlantic at 1701BST on Thursday, March 13. The precision of entry— just Usee late and only three miles from the recovery carrier USS Guadalcanal—was typical of the ten-day copybook flight. While the detailed performance of the lunar module will not be established for some weeks, the evidence from the "quick-look" data suggests that all major and most, if not all, minor areas of the moon-landing spacecraft performed perfectly. Apollo 9 was the first major test of the last item of Saturn Apollo hardware to be exercised. The LM has suffered from a number of development problems, the resolution of which could well have delayed or postponed the Moon landing, now tentatively scheduled for July 18 (the actual date will be given officially on March 24). In the event it appears that following a successful Apollo 10 flight in May, which can now be regarded as a full-scale dress rehersal rather than as a development flight, NASA will regard the LM with the same confidence as it does the other spacecraft elements. In Houston Gen Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo Programme Director, said "This flight was beautiful. It was even more successful than we had hoped for. But we shall not scrap the Apollo 10 flight in May. We are not in favour of an earlier landing than by Apollo 11 as planned." Dr George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator of Manned Space Flight, and Director of the Office of Manned Space Flight, said of the mission: "I don't see how it could have been more successful." He said that NASA had proposed a pro gramme of manned exploration of the Moon, beginning next year and scheduling several flights each year. These plans in clude the development of a new technique for landing close to any areas of interest, so that flights would not be limited Astronaut David Scott is hoisted aboard in the "cage"—one of the less scientific aspects of the flight Above, the command module is seen through the window of the LM ascent stage during the rendezvous on March 6. The conical device protruding from the CM is the docking probe. The LM hatch is just being closed. Below, the splashdown was clearly visible from the USS "Guadalcanal" three miles away. An even closer look was obtained by the rescue helicopters which, as the picture shows, were on the scene before the command module had hit the water
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