Apollo 9 was the third manned mission in the u.s.Apollo space program and the
first flight of the Command/Service Module with the Lunar Module. Its three-man
crew, consisting of Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David
Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart, was launched on March 3
and spent ten days in low Earth orbit testing several aspects critical to landing
on the Moon, including the LM engines, backpack life support systems, the
life support systems, navigation systems, and docking maneuvers. The
mission was the second manned launch of a Saturn V rocket.

Apollo 9  splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.