"Apollo Command Module CSM-007A near NASA's MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico, during a manned 48-hour Apollo Block II Command Module postlanding systems qualification test."
CM-007 was delivered to NASA in 1966. After serving as a ground test vehicle, CM-007 was modified in 1967 for use in water-survival training as CM-007A. As part of their training, the astronauts inside the capsule were dropped into the Gulf of Mexico by a crane from an aircraft carrier to simulate the force of splashdown. Apollo crews also trained for extended recovery by remaining at sea for several days at a time in the Command Module. Such training prepared astronauts for the possibility of a splashdown far from the planned recovery site.
Date: April 5, 1968
NASA ID: S68-30160
