Russell L. “Rusty” Schweickart
Russell L. Schweickart was chosen in NASA’s third astronaut group in October 1963. In March 1969, he flew on Apollo 9, logging 241 hours in space, and later played important roles in NASA’s Skylab program.
Quick Facts
Biography
Russell L. Schweickart
Russell L. Schweickart was chosen as a NASA astronaut in October 1963. He served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 9, logging 241 hours in space from March 3-13, 1969.
Learn More about Russell L. Schweickart about Russell L. Schweickart![Russell L. “Rusty” Schweickart.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/group-3-17-schweickart-s64-29936.jpg?w=1229)
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Apollo 9
The primary objective of Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbital engineering test of the first crewed lunar module, or LM. Other prime objectives included an overall checkout of launch vehicle and…
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Apollo 9: ‘A Hell of a Ride’
With Apollo 9, we tested the capabilities of our Moon landing spacecraft in Earth’s orbit. Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart performed systems checks and gathered data. The Lunar Module and the Command Module separated by nearly 100 miles and an engine burn check brought them back together. A challenging rendezvous and docking proved the abilities of the hardware. This historic mission launched on March 3, 1969 as an engineering mission and paved the way for future Apollo missions.
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Oral History
Russell Schweickart participated in oral history interviews with NASA's History Office in October 1999 and March 2000. In these interviews he discussed his early life, his days with the Apollo program, his efforts with Skylab, and his other roles within America's space program.
Read the Transcripts![Apollo 9 astronaut Russell L. Schweickart on Spider’s front porch during the mission’s dual spacewalk – note fellow astronaut David R. Scott reflected in Schweickart’s visor](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/moon-landing-l-4-months-8-apollo-9-schweickart-eva-as09-19-2982.jpg?w=1024)
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Fifty-five years ago today, NASA astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart splashed down 4.5 nautical…
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Astronaut David R. Scott, command module pilot for the Apollo 9 Earth-orbital mission, stands in the command module’s open hatch…
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The third day in space for the Apollo 9 crew of Commander James A. McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David R.…