RIP Jim McDivitt, Apollo 9 CMDR

Apollo Astronaut Jim McDivitt died last week. He was 93. McDivitt was the command pilot of Gemini 4, which had as its highlight the first American Spacewalk by Ed White. McDivitt would also serve as commander of Apollo 9, which tested the first lunar module in low earth orbit.

McDivitt is also known for choosing to remain with his lunar module test mission, rather than accept the hail mary solo journey to the moon. Saying that Apollo 8 would simply be a two-week vacation, while Apollo 9 would be a pure test mission, and thus, more fun.

After putting the LEM through its paces, McDivitt would accept a promotion to Manager of Lunar Landing Operations and was the Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager. He retired in 1972 with the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force.

Ad Astra.