Extraordinary log book extensively used during the Apollo 9 flight, 5.5 x 8, signed and flight-certified inside the front cover in felt tip, “Flown on Apollo 9, 1st flight of the Lunar Module! Jim McDivitt, CDR,” “Dave Scott, CMP,” and “Rusty Schweickart, LMP.” The book consists of 100 pages (50 individual sheets), with 34 pages filled out in-flight with detailed observations on the performance of the spacecraft, star sightings, photography notes, water and food intake, and other subjects of interest.
On the first page of remarks, Dave Scott writes: "Launch seemed like late ignition, bang and decal at 1st stage SII high freq. vibrations at ~6:00." On the following page, he writes: "Received VHS weak some foreign transmissions 2 way, 'Green Hornet'…Then some more 2 way, sounded like Chinese."
Atmospheric conditions are logged in the remarks section at 175:20: "About 10 min prior to sunrise we were well dark adapted looking at stars & airglow when we both noticed another, more tenuous, higher glowing layer. The lower airglow appeared faintly reddish on the underside & green on the top," sketching a diagram of what they observed, adding, "The upper layer disappeared well before sunrise (~5 min)."
At 55:00:00, Scott fills out an entire page of remarks, initialed "DRS," headed "Hatch, Probe, Drogue," in part: "Hatch works fine, easy to remove and stow except stowage bag too small…Probe—works as advertised…Drogue—most difficult to remove…The entire tunnel clearance goes very well with the exception of the suit hoses which are constantly in the way, pushing the wrong way, twisted, and cumbersome. More flexibility would help…During LM systems with out of plane alignment, the s/c tended to drift into gimbal lock—from all angles and on both sides of the FDAI." He continues on with some more issues, including: "Window shades do not fit, need screwdriver; Bite size food is crumbly; Water has too much gas, tastes bad!; Not enough velcro in right places; LiOH canisters are not marked; Comm cables too stiff; only two sleeping bags."
On a page headed "Day 7," McDivitt writes several notes about their film supply and the photography they have done, listing various film rolls and canisters. At 212:56, Schweickart jots down "Looking at Canis Major," sketching a diagram of the star constellation below. The astronauts also make several notes about a cabin fan malfunction. The last entry comes at 225:00, reading: "Busy days these last 5. Not like I expected—Enjoyed it."
A six-page section headed "Photo Log. 70mm (CEX368)" is filled out at length, listing information such as film magazine, frame, and subject, including "Photos of RNDZ from CSM," "LM Jettison," "Mexican West Coast Looking South," "Cloud Formations," “Photos of Western US," "Pix of Cent & South America," "Whole series across Africa," "Jim's Beard," "Mexico, Geology," "Hatch Window," "Sun glint on water," "Mt Kilimanjaro," "Mouth of Amazon thru clouds," and "Sunrise."
The 16mm photo log is only briefly filled out, initially documenting the first burn of LM in orbit photos, followed by subjects such as "Sweep across U.S.," "Northern Australia," and "Sun glint on ocean." The is also a sleep lot page where each astronaut documented the length and quality of his sleep, with all getting between three and non hours of sleep per night. On the exercise log, Schweickart notes that he spent twenty minutes exercising and subsequently "Broke Exerciser." Other pages are filled out with their water and food intake, and the last page is a film summary for the mission. In fine condition, with expected wear and soiling from use. Accompanied a signed certificate of authenticity from McDivitt, in full: “I certify that this Crew Log Book was flown on Apollo 9 and is from my personal collection.”
The Apollo 9 mission tested several aspects critical to landing on the moon, including the LM engines, backpack life support systems, navigation systems, and docking maneuvers. This mission proved that the Lunar Module was worthy of manned spaceflight, and included the first manned flight of the LM, the first docking and extraction of a LM, two spacewalks, and the first space docking of two vehicles with an internal crew transfer. A remarkable, copiously annotated piece of space history revealing exceptional details of the Apollo 9 mission. Pre-certified Steve Zarelli.
This item is Pre-Certified by STEVE ZARELLI
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