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Lunar Module 1 being prepared for launch

Apollo 5 (launched January 22, 1968) was the uncrewed first flight of the Lunar Module (LM), that would later carry astronauts to the lunar surface. The liftoff of the Saturn IB rocket bearing the first LM (LM-1) from Cape Kennedy followed long delays. due in part to setbacks in development of the LM at Grumman, the manufacturer. The original rocket was taken down during the delays and replaced with the one atop which the Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts had taken place. LM-1 arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in June 1967; the following months were occupied in testing. After further delays, the countdown began on January 21, 1968, with launch the following day. The mission was successful, though due to programming problems an alternate mission to that originally planned was executed, and a contemplated second uncrewed mission to test the LM was cancelled, advancing NASA's plans to land an astronaut on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, with a safe return to Earth.(Full article...)