50th Anniversary: Apollo 10 Launches From Kennedy Space Center On May 18, 1969

By  //  May 17, 2019

ABOVE VIDEO: When Apollo 10 launched on May 18, 1969, it was the fifth launch of the Saturn V.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – When Apollo 10 launched on May 18, 1969, it was the fifth launch of the Saturn V.

It carried Mission Commander Thomas Stafford, command module pilot John Young and lunar module pilot Eugene Cernan to the Moon.

The crew performed the first lunar orbit rendezvous, and the lunar landing mission profile was performed except for powered descent, landing and ascent of the lunar module.

When Apollo 10 launched on May 18, 1969, it was the fifth launch of the Saturn V. (NASA Image)

The mission objectives were to rehearse all the steps and reproduce all the events of the Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission, with the exception of the lunar touchdown, stay and liftoff.

The mission transmitted the first live color television transmissions to Earth, which began three hours after launch when Apollo 10 was 3,570 miles from Earth.

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