Astronaut James McDivitt, commander of Apollo 9, has died at the age of 93. He commanded the Apollo 9 missions testing the first equipment that will go to the moon.
During his career, McDivitt logged a total of 14 days in space. He completed training at the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School and worked as an experimental test pilot out of Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Then, he was chosen to join NASA’s second astronaut class in September 1962.
McDivitt also led the crew of the Gemini 4 mission in 1965, during which his close friend and fellow astronaut Ed White performed the first spacewalk in American history.
Furthermore, his second trip into space was as commander of the Apollo 9 mission. He lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 1969, with David Scott in the command module and Russell Schweickart in the lunar module.
Later on, McDivitt went on to supervise lunar landing operations after his spaceflights. From August 1969 through June 1972, he served as NASA’s Apollo Spacecraft Program manager.
McDivitt had an impressively decorated career. He earned two NASA distinguished service medals. And that is the NASA exceptional service medal, numerous other awards and decorations from the United States and other countries.