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| A cover from "Heritage Crafts," signed by the Apollo 10 crew, features a Kennedy Space Center machine cancellation dated May 18, 1969, marking the launch date. This piece, autographed by Eugene Cernan, John Young, and Tom Stafford, originates from the family collection of astronaut Richard Gordon. - Heritage Auctions |
Apollo 10, with Thomas Stafford as Commander, John Young as Command Module Pilot, and Gene Cernan as Lunar Module Pilot, launched from Kennedy Space Center on May 18, 1969. This mission was essentially a dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 moon landing. Following the tests performed during Apollo 9 in Earth's orbit, the Apollo 10 crew flew a fully operational lunar module to the Moon, coming within 16 kilometers of the surface to photograph possible landing sites in Mare Tranquillitatis. The mission aimed to evaluate all systems and procedures without actually landing on the Moon.
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| Photo: Astronaut-geologist Harrison Schmitt provides a briefing to the Apollo 10 crew on the lunar topographic features they will observe during their dress rehearsal flight for the moon landing. |
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| The Apollo 10 crew—Gene Cernan, Thomas Stafford, and John Young—selected characters from Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" comic strip, specifically "Snoopy" and "Charlie Brown," as their mission's call signs and mascots. |
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| An official NASA Apollo 10 cachet on a cover, postmarked May 18, 1969, featuring a Kennedy Space Center machine cancellation. It is autographed by Tom Stafford, John Young, and Gene Cernan. - RRAuction |
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| Photograph: Astronaut Thomas Stafford extends his hand to pat the nose of a stuffed "Snoopy" dog held by secretary Miss Jayme Flowers, following his suiting up for the Apollo 10 launch at Cape Kennedy. |
The crew spent three days traveling to the Moon before entering lunar orbit, where they practiced all the stages leading up to a potential lunar landing.
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| Photo: A televised image of the Moon's surface, captured by the Apollo 10 crew. |
After the spacecraft achieved lunar orbit on May 22, 1969, Stafford and Cernan, aboard the Lunar Module (nicknamed "Snoopy"), separated from the Command and Service Module ("Charlie Brown"), while Young stayed alone in the Command module. Snoopy was then placed into a descent orbit, descending to an altitude of 15.6 kilometers (8.4 nautical miles) above the Moon's surface, marking the point where powered descent for landing would begin in a real moon landing mission. At this altitude, the astronauts were able to observe the Moon's mountains and craters in greater detail.
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| A NASA local post cover, postmarked in Houston on May 22, 1969 to commemorate the Apollo 10 lunar exploration. |
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| A Sazin cover featuring a cachet depicting the lunar module's separation from the command module, postmarked at Cape Canaveral on May 22, 1969. |
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| Photo: An image of a rille on the Moon's surface, captured by the Apollo 10 crew. |
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| A Sazin cover featuring a cachet illustrating the lunar module above the Moon's surface, postmarked at Cape Canaveral on May 22, 1969.
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| Photo: An image of Crater Taruntius H, captured from the lunar module. |
Once the test flight was completed, Snoopy was separated into two parts: the descent stage, which would stay on the Moon's surface in an actual landing missions, was intended to crash into the Moon, while the ascent stage, carrying Stafford and Cernan, reunited with Young in the Command Module. Once Cernan and Stafford had re-entered Charlie Brown, Snoopy was sealed off and detached from Charlie Brown. The remaining fuel in the ascent stage engine was burned to propel it into orbit around the Sun.
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| A cover featuring a printed cachet of Snoopy on the Moon, postmarked at Satellite Beach on May 22, 1969. |
After ejecting the ascent stage, the crew rested and conducted photography and observations of the lunar surface from orbit. During the 31st orbit, the Service Propulsion System (SPS) was activated again. Apollo 10 was on the far side of the Moon when it was placed on a trajectory back to Earth.
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| Photo: An image of Crater Censorinus, captured from the command module. |
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| Photo: The far side of the Moon, photographed by Apollo 10.
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| Photo: This image of the Moon was captured after the trans-Earth insertion, with the Apollo 10 spacecraft positioned high above the lunar equator on May 24, 1969. The prominent dark area near the center of the photograph is the Sea of Tranquility, which was designated as the planned landing site for Apollo 11. |
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| Photo: John W. Young shaves with a safety razor and lather during the return flight of Apollo 10, with Flight Commander Tom Stafford visible in the background. This marked the first instance of shaving in space. All three astronauts landed clean-shaven.
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On May 26, 1969, Apollo 10 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, about 400 miles east of American Samoa, where it was retrieved by the USS Princeton.
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| Apollo 10 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Top: Cover postmarked May 26, 1969, at Cape Canaveral.
Bottom: NASA local post cover postmarked May 26, 1969, at Houston. |
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| Photo: Apollo 10 crew departing from the command module, Charlie Brown. |
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| A cover featuring the recovery of the Apollo 10 crew, postmarked May 26, 1969, at Cape Canaveral.
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| Photo: The scene in Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston after the successful splashdown of the Apollo 10 spacecraft. |
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| Photo: USS Princeton, the prime recovery ship for Apollo 10. |
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| Apollo 10 USS Princeton Captain's cover, machine canceled on May 26, 1969. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 10 crew—Eugene Cernan, John Young, and Tom Stafford—along with commanding officer Captain Carl Mann Cruse aboard the USS Princeton. |
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| Apollo 10 USS Princeton recovery ship cover featuring a Beck rubber stamped cachet. It is signed by John Young, Gene Cernan, and Tom Stafford, with the signatures obtained during NovaSpace signing sessions. - RegencyStamps |
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| Apollo 10 USS Princeton recovery ship cover featuring a Beck rubber stamped cachet. It is signed by NASA recovery team leader Charles Filley, commander of the Pacific-based Task Force 130 Rear Adm. Frederick E. Bakutis, astronaut Gene Cernan, commanding officer Captain Carl Mann Cruse, and helicopter recovery pilot Cdr. Charles B. Smiley. |
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| Apollo 10 USS Princeton recovery ship cover featuring a hand cancel and a black Beck rubber stamped cachet. The Beck stamped cachet in magenta, accompanied by the USS Princeton machine cancel, is typically found on covers. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 10 crew, recently returned from their trip around the Moon, conversed with the Apollo 11 crew, who were preparing for their upcoming lunar landing. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 10 crew at a post-flight news conference on June 7, 1969. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 10 crew returned to the launch site on June 11, 1969. |
