Fri, Mar 01, 2019
San Diego Air And Space Museum Plans Year-Long Celebration Of The Apollo Program
The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 9, the first of four Apollo flights in 1969 – including the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing in July later that year – takes center stage during a special celebration at the San Diego Air & Space Museum on Wednesday, March 13.
As of this press release, all three Apollo 9 crew members – Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart, as well as Flight Directors Gerry Griffin and Gene Kranz and other Apollo luminaries – are scheduled to attend the celebration.
“Throughout 2019, the world is honoring 50 years of Apollo, beginning with the Apollo 9 anniversary on March 13, exactly 50 years to the day of Apollo 9’s splash down after its groundbreaking 10-day mission,” said Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. “Anyone and everyone who remembers NASA’s Mercury,Gemini and Apollo legacy space programs will want to be here for this incredible evening commemorating one of America’s finest achievements.”
Apollo 9 was just the third manned spaceflight in the Apollo program. The three-astronaut crew — McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart — paved the way for later lunar exploration with a series of milestones, including the first Extravehicular Activity (spacewalk) of the Apollo program, NASA’s first two-man EVA, the first manned test flight of the Lunar Module, and the first docking of two manned American spacecraft.
The celebration offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see all three Apollo 9 crew members with their actual Command Module “Gumdrop,” as well as the opportunity to become a sponsor and sit at one of the astronauts’ tables.
The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. with the dinner and the program to follow at 6:30 p.m.
(Source: San Diego Air & Space Museum news release. NASA image)
More News
Omnidirectional Approach Lighting System ODALS consists of seven omnidirectional flashing lights located in the approach area of a nonprecision runway. Five lights are located on t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
Also: 1800th E-Jet, Uncle Sam Sues For Landing Gear, Embraer Ag Plane, Textron Parts A friend of the family reported that Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Glenn Rutan flew west on Friday, M>[...]
Also: Virgin Galactic, B-29 Doc to Allentown, Erickson Fire-Fighters Bought, FAA Reauthorization After dealing with a big letdown after the unexpected decision by Skyreach to disco>[...]
“Our aircrews are trained and capable of rapidly shifting from operational missions to humanitarian roles. We planned to demonstrate how we, and our BORSTAR partners, respond>[...]