WORLD OF SCIENCE
Toughest mission
DR. T. V. PADMA
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It was a flight that was supposed to have thrilled the world.
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Apollo 9 was a tough mission. It had to test the lunar module, which would land on the Moon. Colonel James Mcdivitt who had flown in Gemini 4, Air force Colonel David Scott who had flown in Gemini 8 and a civilian astronaut Russel Schweikart were the crew.
The flight of Apollo 9 was planned for February 28, 1969. However the astronauts took ill. Illness could result in his making a mistake and he might choke to death if he were to vomit while wearing his helmet. So the flight was postponed. Apollo 9 took off on March 3.
Successful test
On earth, a number of tracking stations in the U.S., Europe and Australia, on land and on ships, followed the orbiting spacecraft. On the third day of the mission, Mcdivitt and Schweikart entered Lunar Module, and for the first time it was manned. Mcdivitt and Schweikart donned pressure suits and Scott cleared the tunnel connecting the two spacecraft. After the tunnel was opened Schweikart crawled in headfirst. Once inside, rope restraints attached to the craft’s walls had to be fastened to his wrists to keep him from floating. Now Schweikart could talk to his fellow astronauts only by radio.
The next thing was a test firing of the module’s descent engine. The test was a success.
The next day a spacewalk took place. At sunrise Schweikart wearing his pressure suit and helmet with a gold visor to reflect sunlight got out of the module. He carried an 84-pound backpack with oxygen supply, communication system and a cooling unit. He was kept from floating too far away by a 25-ft nylon line. The next day the Lunar module had its first flight.
Now, the U.S. was much closer to a moon landing. The last of the complex equipment to land man on the moon had been tested. President Nixon congratulated the crew saying that the epic flight of Apollo 9 would be recorded in history as ten days that thrilled the world.
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