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)

FMI: sandiegoairandspace.org/calendar/event/50th-anniversary-of-apollo-9a