Saturn Apollo Program

The fifth launch of the Saturn V launch vehicle (SA-505), the Apollo 10 mission with astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan, occurred on May 18, 1969. The crew performed the first lunar orbit rendezvous, and the lunar landing mission profile was performed except for powered descent, landing, and ascent of the Lunar Module. The mission objectives were to rehearse all the steps and reproduce all the events of the Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission, with the exception of the lunar touchdown, stay, and liftoff.