Video: 'NBC NEWS - APOLLO 15 LAUNCH (7-26-1971)'

(Monday, July 26, 1971, 9:34 a.m. EDT) — Apollo 15, carrying astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Merritt Island, Florida, this morning on its mission to the Moon.

After separating from the attached lunar module, turning around and docking with the module without incident, the spacecraft then departed Earth orbit (at 12:24 p.m. EDT) and proceeded on a four-day journey to the Moon.

Apollo 15 was the ninth crewed mission in the United States’ Apollo program and would be the fourth to land on the Moon. It would be the first J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greater focus on science than earlier landings. And Apollo 15 would see the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle.