56 years ago, Huntsville-designed Saturn V rocket sent Apollo 10 into space for ‘dress rehearsal' mission
CAPE KENNEDY, Fla. (WHNT) — 56 years ago today, the Apollo 10 'dress rehearsal' mission launched into space to set up the Apollo 11 moon landing mission a month later.
Apollo 10 launched from Cape Kennedy on May 18, 1969.
This flight was the first flight of a complete crewed Apollo spacecraft to operate around the moon, NASA said.
'Objectives included a scheduled eight-hour lunar orbit of the separated lunar module, or LM, and descent to about nine miles off the moon's surface before ascending for rendezvous and docking with the command and service module, or CSM, in about a 70-mile circular lunar orbit. Pertinent data to be gathered in this landing rehearsal dealt with the lunar potential, or gravitational effect, to refine the Earth-based crewed spaceflight network tracking techniques, and to check out LM programmed trajectories and radar, and lunar flight control systems. Twelve television transmissions to Earth were planned. All mission objectives were achieved,' NASA said.
Below are pictures from the Apollo 10 'dress rehearsal' mission, provided by NASA.
Teams lift the first stage of the Apollo 10 Saturn V rocket by crane inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 3, 1968, in preparation for stacking on the mobile launcher. The 138-foot-long stage generated 7.5 million pounds of thrust when it launched Apollo 10 astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan. The mission launched on May 18, 1969, and was the first flight of a complete, crewed Apollo spacecraft to operate around the Moon. (Credit: NASA)
S69-32613 (April 1969) — The prime crew of the Apollo 10 lunar orbit mission sits for a photograph while at the Kennedy Space Center for preflight training. Left to right are astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot; Thomas P. Stafford, commander; and John W. Young, command module pilot. (Credit: NASA)
S69-34328 (17 May 1969) — Ground level view of the 363-feet tall Apollo 10 (Spacecraft 106/Lunar Module 4/Saturn 505) space vehicle on Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center. The Apollo 10 crew will be astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, commander; John W. Young, command module pilot; and Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot. (Credit: NASA)
Astronaut Gordon Cooper's secretary, Jamie Flowers, holding Snoopy plush figure, as astronaut Tom Stafford ( followed by astronauts John Young and Gene Cernan ) walks to elevator from crew quarters in MSOB, on May 18, 1969. (Credit: NASA)
S69-34327 (13 May 1969) — Aerial, high-angle, view of the Apollo 10 (Spacecraft 106/Lunar Module 4/Saturn 505) space vehicle at Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The crew of the Apollo 10 lunar orbit mission will be astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, commander; John W. Young, command module pilot; and Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot. (Credit: NASA)
The Apollo 10 (Spacecraft 106/Lunar Module 4/Saturn 505) space vehicle with crew members Eugene Cernan, John Young and Thomas Stafford on board is launched from Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center at 12:49 p.m., May 18, 1969. (Credit: NASA)
After dropping down to 47,400 feet above the moon's surface, Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard the ascent stage of Apollo 10 lunar module, return to John Young in the command module on May 22, 1969. (Credit: NASA)
The Apollo 10 command module with John Young aboard, named 'Charlie Brown,' is seen from the lunar module 'Snoopy' with crew members Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, after separation in lunar orbit. (Credit: NASA)
A view of Earth from 36,000 nautical miles away as photographed from the Apollo 10 spacecraft during its trans-lunar journey toward the moon. The crew members on Apollo 10 are astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, commander; John W. Young, command module pilot; and Eugene Cernan, lunar module pilot. (Credit: NASA)
S69-36593 (26 May 1969) — The Apollo 10 astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (center), John W. Young (left) and Eugene A. Cernan (waving) are greeted by Donald E. Stullken (lower left) of the Manned Space Center's (MSC) recovery operations team. The Apollo 10 crew splashed down in the South Pacific recovery area to conclude a successful eight-day lunar orbit mission. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m. (CDT), May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa and about four miles from the prime recovery ship, USS Princeton. (Credit: NASA)
The crew for this flight included Commander Thomas P. Stafford, Lunar Module Pilot Eugene A. Cernan and Command Module Pilot John W. Young.
Stafford was selected among the second group of astronauts to participate in the Projects Gemini and Apollo. He has flown on four space missions, logging a total of 507 hours and 43 minutes in space. He has flown over 127 different types of aircraft and helicopters and four different types of spacecraft. He was selected to be a NASA astronaut in September 1962. General Stafford was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest speed ever attained by man, which occurred during Apollo 10 reentry when the spacecraft attained 24,791statute miles per hour.
Cernan flew on three missions over his NASA career: Gemini 9A, Apollo 10 and Apollo 17. Cernan was also named as the backup spacecraft commander for Apollo 14. He logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space, of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the Moon. Cernan was a Captain in the U.S. Navy and was also selected to be a NASA astronaut in October 1963.
Young is the first person to fly in space six times from Earth, and seven times counting his lunar liftoff. He flew on Gemini 3, Gemini 10, Apollo 10, Apollo 16, the first flight of the Space Shuttle (STS-1) and was the Spacecraft Commander of STS-9. He has logged more than 15,275 hours flying time in props, jets, helicopters, rocket jets, more than 9,200 hours in T-38s, and six space flights of 835 hours. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in September 1962.
The rocket that took the three men into space was a Saturn V, designed at the Marshall Space Flight Center here in Huntsville. In addition to the design of the rocket being Huntsville-made, the Instrument Unit was also made here in Huntsville by IBM at the Space Systems Center.
For this mission, the rocket sent the lunar lander to the moon. People would not land on the moon until the Apollo 11 mission, one month after the Apollo 10 mission.
The payloads for this mission were the CSM-106, named Charlie Brown, and the LM-4, named Snoopy.
The first live color TV transmissions to Earth began three hours after launch when Apollo 10 was 3,570 miles from Earth and concluded when the spacecraft was 9,428 miles away.
Only one of four midcourse corrections was needed.
Stafford and Cernan entered 'Snoopy' and prepared for the undocking maneuver on the 12th revolution, a little more than 98 hours into the flight.
At about 100 hours into the mission, on May 22, the vehicles separated and briefly flew a station-keeping lunar orbit of 66.7 by 71.5 miles. To achieve a simulation of the future Apollo 11 landing, the 'Snoopy' descent engine fired for 27.4 seconds, with 10 percent thrust for the first 15 seconds and 40 percent thrust for the rest.
'Snoopy' flew over Landing Site 2 in the Sea of Tranquility. During this run, the 'Snoopy' landing radar was tested for altitude functioning, providing both 'high gate' and 'low gate' data.
With Young in 'Charlie Brown' taking on an active rendezvous role, the vehicles were re-docked on May 23, slightly more than 106 hours into the mission. The 'Snoopy' ascent stage jettisoned and its engine fired to depletion.
On the 31st orbit, the SPS restarted. Apollo 10 was on the back side of the moon when it was injected into a trans-Earth trajectory.
After a midcourse correction and command and service module separation, Apollo 10 re-entered Earth's atmosphere on May 26.
Apollo 10 completed a flight of 192 hours, three minutes, 23 seconds – one minute, 24 seconds longer than planned.
The astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean around 12:52 p.m. Eastern and were recovered onto the USS Princeton.
You can learn more about the Apollo 10 'dress rehearsal' mission here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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