Apollo 9 Gumdrop-Spider crewed lunar-module test spacecraft family
NASA Apollo 9 spacecraft family performed the first crewed flight of the complete Apollo configuration, testing the lunar module, rendezvous, docking, propulsion, navigation, and life-support systems in Earth orbit in March 1969.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Apollo 9Apollo 9 spacecraftGumdropSpiderApollo 9 command and service moduleApollo 9 lunar module
- Family Name
- Apollo 9
- Full Name
- Apollo 9 Gumdrop-Spider crewed lunar-module test spacecraft family
- Roles
- crewed_spacecraftorbiterlanderresearch
- Status
- retired
- Type
- spacecraft
Details
- Description
- NASA Apollo 9 spacecraft family performed the first crewed flight of the complete Apollo configuration, testing the lunar module, rendezvous, docking, propulsion, navigation, and life-support systems in Earth orbit in March 1969.
- First Flight Year
- 1,969
- Last Flight Year
- 1,969
- Operator
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 1
- Placement
- spacecraft
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- service-module
- Variant Notes
- Single Aerojet AJ10-137 Service Propulsion System on the Gumdrop service module; the existing Apollo CSM Block II integrated-system boundary is reused without changing the propulsion identity.
- Count
- 2
- Placement
- spacecraft
- Propulsion System
- Role
- attitude-control
- Stage
- command-module
- Variant Notes
- Two independent Command Module reaction-control subsystems; the existing Apollo CSM Block II installation establishes the subsystem count, not an inferred individual-engine model.
- Count
- 4
- Placement
- spacecraft
- Propulsion System
- Role
- attitude-control
- Stage
- service-module
- Variant Notes
- Four Service Module reaction-control quad packages distributed around the service-module periphery, matching the existing Apollo CSM Block II installation.
- Name
- Apollo 9 Gumdrop CSM Block II propulsion
- Notes
- Apollo 9 Gumdrop command-and-service-module propulsion only. The Block II boundary is represented by one AJ10-137 Service Propulsion System, two Command Module reaction-control subsystems, and four Service Module reaction-control quad packages. Saturn launch-vehicle propulsion and the separate Spider lunar-module systems remain outside this configuration.
- Entries
- Count
- 1
- Placement
- spacecraft
- Propulsion System
- Role
- landing
- Stage
- descent
- Variant Notes
- One integrated Lunar Module Descent Propulsion System retained for the Apollo 9 LM test boundary; no mission-specific engine model is invented.
- Count
- 1
- Placement
- spacecraft
- Propulsion System
- Role
- takeoff-lift
- Stage
- ascent
- Variant Notes
- One integrated Lunar Module Ascent Propulsion System used for Apollo 9 ascent-stage firing and rendezvous operations; no exact engine variant is inferred from generic evidence.
- Name
- Apollo 9 Spider lunar-module propulsion
- Notes
- Apollo 9 Spider lunar-module main propulsion only. NASA documents the self-sufficient Lunar Module test and ascent-stage firing; the existing integrated Descent Propulsion System and Ascent Propulsion System identities are reused. The Lunar Module reaction-control system is intentionally omitted because no exact canonical LM-RCS dependency is present in this packet, and no new identity or engine model is inferred.
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 13, 2026 at 09:11:12 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 25, 2026 at 19:06:18 UTC