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Apollo Command/Service Module

Spacecraft and Launch Vehicles

The Apollo Command/Service Module is an American crewed spacecraft built by North American Aviation for NASA's Apollo program, first flown in 1968, consisting of a conical crew capsule attached to a cylindrical service module carrying propulsion, power and life support systems. It carried astronauts to lunar orbit and back to Earth on every crewed Apollo mission, including the Apollo 11 flight that first landed astronauts on the Moon in 1969.

Facts
Year
1969 1
Significance
The mother ship that carried a crew of three astronauts and the Apollo Lunar Module to lunar orbit, and brought the astronauts back to Earth. 1
Manufacturer or Builder
North American Aviation 1
FAQs

What was the service module for?

The service module held the main propulsion system and consumables.

The complete Apollo spacecraft had three parts: the command module, the service module and the lunar module. According to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the service module contained the main spacecraft propulsion system and consumables, while the lunar module was the two-person craft Armstrong and Aldrin used to descend to the Moon's surface on Apollo 11.

Which part of the Apollo spacecraft came back to Earth?

Only the command module returned to Earth.

Only the command module. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum states that the command module is the only portion of the spacecraft to return to Earth. The Apollo 11 command module was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1971.
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Apollo Command/Service Module
Wikipedia
  • Background section, developer sentence
    The CSM was developed and built for NASA by North American Aviation starting in November 1961.
  • Lead section, first sentence
    The Apollo command and service module (CSM) was one of two principal components of the United States Apollo spacecraft, used for the Apollo program, which landed 12 astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972.
  • Lead section, mother-ship sentence
    The CSM functioned as a mother ship, which carried a crew of three astronauts and the second Apollo spacecraft, the Apollo Lunar Module, to lunar orbit, and brought the astronauts back to Earth.
  • In Group: Crewed Spacecraft, Lead sentence
    The Apollo command and service module (CSM) was one of two principal components of the United States Apollo spacecraft, used for the Apollo program, which landed 12 astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972.
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