posted 02-12-2019 11:34 AM               

Apollo 9 50th Anniversary Celebration Set for March 13 at the San Diego Air & Space Museum

Apollo 9, which paved the way for later lunar exploration – including the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing – kicks off a year-long international celebration of 50 Years of Apollo at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

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, the Museum announced today. Tickets are going fast!

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 ground breaking 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. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit the museum's website.