Apollo Command Module

Apollo CM

Mission Profile

Apollo Command Module (Apollo CM) was the crew compartment of the Apollo spacecraft, a 3.9-meter base diameter conical capsule housing three astronauts for the Earth launch, transit to the Moon, lunar orbit, and reentry phases of Apollo missions. The Command Module was the only part of the entire Saturn V stack that returned to Earth, protected during reentry by a phenolic epoxy resin ablative heat shield that withstood temperatures up to 2,800°C. Twelve Apollo CMs flew on crewed missions between 1968 and 1975, including six lunar orbit missions, three Skylab visits, and the Apollo-Soyuz docking. Several Apollo CMs used as backups or test articles are preserved in museums around the world, including the Apollo 11 CM Columbia at the National Air and Space Museum.