This Apollo Block II spacecraft, consisting of Command and Service Modules 119, was the last of its kind built. Designated as the Skylab rescue vehicle, it could be launched in a five-man ...

James Burke and John Parry report from inside an Apollo space capsule simulator at the NASA space research centre in California.

The command module performed so well that NASA felt confident in making a bold move — sending Apollo 8 all the way around the moon in December. Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbit test of the lunar module.

Behind the Command Module came the Service Module, which contained fuel tanks and engines. The Lunar Module (LM or "Lem") was carried in a compartment behind the command and service modules.

The command module performed so well that NASA felt confident in making a bold move — sending Apollo 8 all the way around the moon in December. Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbit test of the lunar module.

More Apollo 13 was slated to be the third landing on the moon after Apollo 8 (1968) and Apollo 12 (1969). Launched on April 11, 1970, the crew was led by commander Lovell, along with command module ...