Apollo Program · Uncrewed Lunar Module test

Apollo 5

Uncrewed test

Launch: 1968-01-22 22:48 UTC
Return: 1968-01-23 (LM ascent stage left in decaying orbit)
Duration: Approximately 8 hours of active testing

Mission summary

Apollo 5 was the first space test of the Apollo Lunar Module — LM-1 — flown without a CSM atop the Saturn IB originally built for Apollo 1. After an early descent-engine cutoff caused by an over-conservative guidance program, ground controllers worked around the issue with manually commanded burns and the ascent engine performed the 'fire-in-the-hole' staging maneuver that would later lift crews off the Moon. The successful flight cleared the LM for crewed use on Apollo 9.

Launch vehicle

Saturn IB SA-204 (the vehicle originally assigned to Apollo 1)

Objectives

First flight test of the Apollo Lunar Module (LM-1) in space.
Verify the LM descent and ascent engines in zero gravity.
Verify staging — separation of the ascent stage from the descent stage in flight.
No CSM aboard; the LM flew alone in Earth orbit.

Milestones

When	Event
1968-01-22 22:48 UTC	Launched from Cape Kennedy LC-37B with LM-1 inside an aerodynamic shroud. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo5.html
1968-01-23	Descent engine test: first burn cut short by guidance-software safety abort; ground controllers commanded a second, longer burn that succeeded. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_05a_Summary.htm
1968-01-23	Ascent stage staging maneuver completed; ascent engine fired in the 'fire-in-the-hole' configuration that would later be used to lift astronauts off the lunar surface. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_05a_Summary.htm

Primary sources

Last updated 2026-05-09 15:17 UTC.