Astronaut James McDivitt, who led Gemini and Apollo missions, has died at 93 | CNN

James McDivitt, a former NASA astronaut who commanded the Gemini IV and Apollo 9 missions, has died aged 93

McDivitt was surrounded by his family and friends when he died Thursday, according to NASA. Selected to join NASA’s second astronaut class in 1962, McDivitt’s work during the Apollo 9 mission played a critical role in eventually helping land the first humans on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. And his work on Gemini IV helped extend astronauts’ time in space, nearly doubling the duration at that point in early space history, NASA said.

He was joined by Command Module Pilot David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Russell Schweickart. “This was the first flight of the complete set of Apollo hardware and was the first flight of the Lunar Module,” NASA said. “They simulated the maneuvers that would be performed during actual lunar missions.” A few months later, in July 1969, NASA successfully landed humans on the moon. In total, McDivitt logged more than 14 days in space before retiring from NASA in 1972.

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