Oklahoma History Center Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Apollo X

Contact: Paul Lambert
(405) 522-5217
plambert@okhistory.org

Oklahoma City, OK
May 8, 2009
For Immediate Release

The fortieth anniversary of the Apollo X mission is being celebrated by the Oklahoma History Center with a special dinner honoring two of the three astronauts aboard the Apollo X spacecraft. The dinner is set for Wednesday, May 20 with cocktails at 6:00 p.m. and the dinner and program beginning at 7:00 p.m. A few tickets priced at $125 each are still available. Astronauts Tom Stafford and Eugene Cernan, who flew the Apollo X mission, will be present. A number of other astronauts and key mission support leaders of the historic mission will also be present.

Apollo X was the second manned mission to orbit the moon. The mission lifted off on May 18, 1969 and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean May 26, 1969. It was the first to travel to the moon with the full Apollo spacecraft, consisting of the Command and Service Module, named "Charlie Brown," and the Lunar Module, named "Snoopy." The primary objectives of the mission were to demonstrate crew, space vehicle and mission support facilities during a human lunar mission and to evaluate Lunar Module performance. The mission was a full "dry run" for the Apollo 11 mission, in which all operations except the actual lunar landing were performed.

Oklahoman Thomas Stafford was the Mission Commander, Eugene Cernan was the Lunar Module Pilot, and John Young was the Command Module Pilot. Another Oklahoman L. Gordon Cooper was the backup Mission Commander. They were in lunar orbit for 61 hours or 31 orbits. The mission also featured the first live color telecast from space.

To reserve a seat at the dinner and program, contact Dr. Paul Lambert at 405-522-5217 or by email at plambert@okhistory.org.