On this day in 1969, Apollo 9 launches into space. It has been called one of the “lost and forgotten missions” in the Apollo program. Such a pity. Without Apollo 9, Apollo 11 never would have gone to the moon in the first place. Apollo 9’s crew was the first to test the lunar module in outer space. Did you know that the lunar module was considered a very flimsy vehicle? We’ve become so used to photos of Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin stepping out of one; the image has become almost like wallpaper in the background. Who would have guessed that the astronauts considered it to be so lightweight? “My impression when I first saw a LEM,” Commander James A. McDivitt would later say, “was ‘Holy Moses, we’re going to really fly that thing in space?’ It’s a very flimsy craft—like a tissue paper spacecraft. If we’re not careful, we could easily put a foot through it.” Of course, the delicate design makes more sense if you consider the LM’s […]
Source: This Day in History: Apollo 9, lost in Apollo 11’s shadow | Tara Ross
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