Editing Apollo 10 (section)

=== Equipment ===
The descent stage of the LM was delivered to KSC on October 11, 1968, and the ascent stage arrived five days later. They were mated on November 2. The [[Apollo command and service module#Service module (SM)|Service Module]] (SM) and [[Apollo command and service module#Command module (CM)|Command Module]] (CM) arrived on November 24 and were mated two days later. Portions of the [[Saturn V]] launch vehicle arrived during November and December 1968, and the complete launch vehicle was erected in the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] (VAB) on December 30. After being tested in an altitude chamber, the CSM was placed atop the launch vehicle on February 6, 1969.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland|p=257}} The completed space vehicle was rolled out to [[Launch Complex 39B]] on March 11, 1969—the fact that it had been assembled in the VAB's High Bay 2 (the first time it had been used) required the [[Crawler-transporter|crawler]] to exit the rear of the VAB before looping around the building and joining the main [[crawlerway]], proceeding to the launch pad.<ref name="roll" /> This rollout, using [[Mobile launcher platform#Mobile Launcher Platform-3|Mobile Launch Platform-3]] (MLP-3),<ref name="drew" /> happened eight days after the launch of Apollo 9, while that mission was still in orbit.<ref name="roll">{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2019 |title=50 years ago: Apollo 10 rolls out to launch pad |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-10-rolls-out-to-launch-pad |access-date=June 19, 2022 |publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref>

The [[launch vehicle]] for Apollo 10 was a Saturn V, designated AS-505,<ref name="background">{{Cite web |date=February 10, 2017 |title=Apollo 10: Background |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-prep.html |access-date=June 21, 2022 |website=Apollo 10 Lunar Flight Journal |publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref> the fifth flight-ready Saturn V to be launched and the third to take astronauts to orbit.{{sfn|Mission Report|p=14-1}} The Saturn V differed from that used on Apollo 9 in having a lower dry weight (without propellant) in its first two stages, with a significant reduction to the interstage joining them. Although the S-IVB third stage was slightly heavier, all three stages could carry a greater weight of propellant, and the [[S-II]] second stage generated more thrust than that of Apollo 9.{{sfn|Press Kit|p=55}}

The Apollo spacecraft for the Apollo 10 mission was composed of Command Module 106 (CM-106), Service Module 106 (SM-106, together with the CM known as CSM-106), Lunar Module 4 (LM-4), a spacecraft-lunar module adapter (SLA), numbered as SLA-13A, and a launch escape system.{{sfn|Press Kit|p=38}}<ref name="hardware">{{Cite web |date=March 1978 |title=Apollo/Skylab ASTP and Shuttle Orbiter Major End Items |url=https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6473665/Apollo-Skylab-ASTP-and-Shuttle-Orbiter-Major-End.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6473665/Apollo-Skylab-ASTP-and-Shuttle-Orbiter-Major-End.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |publisher=[[NASA]] |page=11}}</ref> The SLA was a mating structure joining the Instrument Unit on the S-IVB stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle and the CSM, and acted as a housing for the LM, while the [[Launch Escape System]] (LES) contained rockets to propel the CM to safety if there was an aborted launch.{{sfn|Press Kit|p=38}} At about 76.99 metric tons, Apollo 10 would be the heaviest spacecraft to reach orbit to that point.<ref name="drew" />