S69-27746 (13 March 1969) --- The Apollo 9 crew awaits the arrival of a recovery helicopter from the USS Guadalcanal, prime recovery ship for the Apollo 9 10-day Earth-orbital space mission. Astronaut James A. McDivitt, commander, stands in hatch of spacecraft. Already in life raft are astronauts Russell L. Schweickart (foreground), lunar module pilot, and David R. Scott, command module pilot. Scott is taking a picture of McDivitt. Splashdown occurred at 12:00:53 p.m. (EST), March 13, 1969, only 4.5 nautical miles from the USS Guadalcanal. U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmers assist in the recovery operations.