Editing Apollo 10 (section)

===Launch and outbound trip===
Apollo 10 launched from KSC on May 18, 1969, at 16:49:00&nbsp;[[UTC]] (12:49:00&nbsp;[[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]], local time at the launch site), at the start of a 4.5-hour [[launch window]]. The launch window was timed to secure optimal lighting conditions at Apollo Landing Site 2 at the time of the LM's closest approach to the site days later. The launch followed a countdown that had begun at 01:00:00&nbsp;UTC on May 17. Because preparations for Apollo 11 had already started at LC-39A, Apollo 10 launched from LC-39B, becoming the only Apollo flight to launch from that pad<ref name="launch">{{Cite web |date=February 6, 2022 |title=Day 1, part 1: Countdown, launch and climb to orbit |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day1-pt1.html |access-date=June 20, 2022 |website=Apollo 10 Lunar Flight Journal |publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref> and the only one to be controlled from its Firing Room 3.<ref name="Hamish" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Neufeld |first=Michael |date=May 22, 2020 |title=Launch Complex 39: From Saturn to Shuttle to SpaceX and SLS |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/launch-complex-39-saturn-shuttle-spacex-and-sls |access-date=July 12, 2022 |publisher=[[National Air and Space Museum]]}}</ref>

Problems that arose during the countdown were dealt with during the built-in holds and did not delay the mission.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland|p=256}} On the day before launch, Cernan had been [[Traffic stop|stopped for speeding]] while returning from a final visit with his wife and child. Lacking identification and under orders to tell no one who he was, Cernan later attested in his autobiography that he had feared being arrested. Launch pad leader [[Gunther Wendt]], who had pulled over nearby after recognizing Cernan, explained the situation to the police officer, who then released Cernan despite the officer's skepticism that Cernan was an astronaut.{{sfn|Cernan|pp=238–239}}

[[File:Apollo 10 Mission Control.jpg|thumb|left|Mission Control in Houston during an Apollo 10 telecast]]
The crew experienced a somewhat rough ride on the way to orbit due to [[pogo oscillation]]s.{{sfn|Cernan|pp=201–202}} About 12 minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft entered a [[low Earth orbit]] with a high point of {{convert|100.32|nmi|km|abbr=off|disp=out|sp=us}} (100.32&nbsp;nautical&nbsp;miles; {{convert|100.32|nmi|mi|abbr=off|disp=out}}) and a low point of {{convert|99.71|nmi|km|abbr=off|disp=out|sp=us}} (99.71&nbsp;nautical&nbsp;miles; {{convert|99.71|nmi|mi|abbr=off|disp=out}}).{{sfn|Orloff|2004|p=286}} All appeared to be normal during the systems review period in Earth orbit, and the crew restarted the [[S-IVB]] third stage to achieve [[trans-lunar injection]] (TLI) and send them towards the Moon. The vehicle shook again while executing the TLI burn, causing Cernan to be concerned that they might have to abort. However, the TLI burn was completed without incident.{{sfn|Cernan|pp=203–204}} Young then performed the [[transposition, docking, and extraction]] maneuver, separating the CSM from the S-IVB stage, turning around, and docking its nose to the top of the lunar module (LM), before separating from the S-IVB. Apollo 10 was the first mission to carry a [[color television]] camera inside the spacecraft, and mission controllers in Houston watched as Young performed the maneuver. Soon thereafter, the large television audience was treated to color views of the Earth.{{sfn|Brooks|pp=303–304}} One problem that was encountered was that the [[mylar]] cover of the CM's hatch had pulled loose, spilling quantities of fiberglass insulation into the tunnel, and then into both the CM and LM.{{sfn|Mission Report|pp=9-4, 9-8}} The S-IVB was fired by ground command and sent into solar orbit with a period of 344.88 days.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland|p=260}}

The crew settled in for the voyage to the Moon. They had a light workload, and spent much of their time studying the flight plan or sleeping. They made five more television broadcasts back to Earth, and were informed that more than a billion people had watched some part of their activities.{{sfn|Brooks|pp=304–306}} In June 1969, the crew would accept a special [[Emmy Award]] on behalf of the first four Apollo crews for their television broadcasts from space.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gent |first=George |date=June 9, 1969 |title=N.B.C.'s 'Teacher, Teacher' Voted Best TV Drama |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/06/09/archives/nbcs-teacher-teacher-voted-best-tv-drama.html |url-access=subscription |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=94}}</ref> One slight course correction was necessary;{{sfn|Brooks|pp=304–306}} this occurred at 26:32:56.8 into the mission and lasted 7.1 seconds. This aligned Apollo 10 with the trajectory Apollo 11 was expected to take.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland|p=260}} One issue the crew encountered was bad-tasting food, as Stafford apparently used a double dose of chlorine in their drinking water, which had to be placed in their dehydrated food to reconstitute it.<ref name="drew" />