Apollo 9

Apollo 8 proved that astronauts could reach the moon, enter lunar orbit, and return safely.

Apollo 9 tested the lunar module in Earth orbit.

Apollo 10 went all the way to the moon and practiced almost every part of the landing mission without actually landing.

By the summer of 1969, NASA was finally ready to try the VR thing.

It was renamed in 1963 as a tribute to the assassinated president, but reverted to its original name 10 years later.

And this is the burnt out shell of the Apollo 1 spacecraft, also known as the Apollo Saturn 204, It went up in flames on the 27th of January, 1967, during a training exercise at Launch Pad 34.

The AS204 had a crew of three astronauts, all of whom died in the accident.

The spacecraft was due to be launched on top of a Saturn 1B rocket as the first manned flight of a Block 1 Apollo capsule to orbit the Earth.

Scheduled for the first quarter of 1967, the flight was intended to launch operations, ground tracking, and control facilities, as well as monitor the performance of the Apollo Saturn.

on the 27th of january however the only plan was to simulate the launch the three astronauts virgil grissom known as gus edward white and roger chaffee were all strapped into their seats and hooked up to the capsule systems straight away there were problems as the air in the capsule was being replaced by pure oxygen The crew members began running through their checklist of space activities while a communication problem was attended to.

At just after half past six, one of the crew was heard saying, we've got a fire in the cockpit.

He was believed by NASA officials, and having cleared his name, Grissom was selected to be the command pilot for the Project Gemini mission in 1964.

But now

I've got... also known as Speedo on vocals and guitar, Andy Stamets, known as ND on guitars and vocals, Pete Reichert, known as PTX on bass, Paul O'Bairn, known as Apollo 9, and Jason Crane, known as JC2000, who are both kind of multi-instrumentalists, and Adam Willard, known as Atom on drums.

So John Rice, the lead singer, for fans of punk, he was also the leader of a post-hardcore band called Drive Like Jehu, in the early 90s, and the garage punk band called Hot Snakes in the mid-2000s.

I really love Hot Snakes.

Two months later, on December 21st, Apollo 8 successfully orbited the Moon.

This was followed by Apollo 9, which orbited the Earth.

Then Apollo 10 circled the Moon once again.

Now, these were all major stepping stones in the space race.

And the lunar module is almost within 10 miles of the lunar surface, complete with two astronauts.

Before Apollo 10, there was Apollo 9.

This was a full Apollo spacecraft complete with the lunar module.

And this mission, they launched the lunar module in lunar orbit.

and conduct integrated testing of docking interfaces, life support systems, communications, propulsion and the Axiom space lunar extravehicular activity suits.

NASA explicitly described this mission as analogous to Apollo 9, the March 1969 flight that was the first crewed test of the Apollo lunar module.

Apollo 9 tested the lunar module's propulsion, life support and docking systems in the relative safety of Earth orbit before Apollo.

10 rehearsed the full landing profile in lunar orbit and Apollo 11 attempted the actual landing.

The parallel is instructive and worth examining in detail.

Apollo 7 tested the command module in Earth orbit in October 1968, verifying that the Block 2 spacecraft was safe for crew after the Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts during a launch pad test in January 1967.

Apollo 8 flew to lunar orbit in December 1968, demonstrating that the Saturn V could send a crewed spacecraft to the Moon, and that the navigation and communication systems worked at lunar distance.

Apollo 9 tested the lunar module in Earth orbit in March 1969, with astronauts undocking, flying the lunar module independently, testing its descent and ascent engines, and re-docking with the command module.

Two months later, Apollo 8 launched and orbited the moon 10 times over the course of 20 hours.

They captured the iconic Earthrise photo and set up Apollo 9 for confident success.

Apollo 9, launched in March of 1969, was the first crewed flight of the lunar module in Earth orbit.

The module's engines, life support, and docking mechanisms were all put to the test in space.

After everything went successfully, Apollo 10 performed a dress rehearsal for lunar landing.

And that's not great when you're in space.

So this actually happened during Apollo 9.

They almost canceled one of the EVA's extravehicular activities because the astronaut was experiencing nausea and vomiting the day before.

And they didn't want him to get into trouble by throwing up in his helmet.

NASA realized that attempting a lunar landing with so many firsts all in one go- The first crew docking, the first cryogenic fuel transfer, and the first of new spacesuits was perhaps not the best way to do it.

Instead, Artemis III is now doing what Apollo 9 did in 1969: staying near Earth to test the lunar module before anyone is allowed to take it to the moon.

In 2027, Artemis III will see Orion rendezvous and dock with either SpaceX's Starship or Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander right here in Earth's backyard.

This allows them to test life support, communications, and docking procedures without the life or death stakes of being nearly 390,000 kilometers away.