Dragon Models 1/72 NASA Apollo 9 Command/Service Module (CSM) With Launch Escape System and Lunar Module Adapter
Following Apollo 8’s successful orbit of the Moon late in 1968, the next mission linked the Command/Service Module (CSM) and Lunar Module (LM) together as a complete Apollo system. The LM had not been ready in time for the preceding flight, but on March 3 1969 it took off on a ten-day low Earth orbit, propelled into space by a Saturn V SA-504 rocket booster. This particular mission was significant in that it was the first manned flight of an LM, the first docking took place, and it featured the first two-man spacewalk. This mission was able to test various procedures such as backpack life support systems, docking maneuvers and the LM engines in preparation for the eventual Moon landing of Apollo 11. Apollo 9 thus proved that orbital rendezvous was feasible, something essential for a Moon landing.