The lunar module was designed to bring astronauts to the surface of … Officially launched on March 3, 1969, Apollo 9 served as the third human spaceflight under the Apollo program. A lunar module had first flown without a crew during Apollo 5 on 22 January 1968. Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbiting mission that tested out the Apollo lunar module for the first time. Background Apollo 9 was a Type D mission, a lunar module manned flight demonstration in Earth orbit. It was the first manned test of the “lunar ferry” that would put astronauts on the Moon.
This week in 1969, the Apollo 9 crew splashed down after a 10-day mission. The primary objective of Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbital engineering test of the first crewed lunar module, or LM. Concurrent prime objectives included an overall checkout of launch vehicle and spacecraft systems, the crew, and procedures. Here, astronaut Russell L. Schweickart performs a spacewalk on the fourth day of the Earth-orbital mission.