(03/14/1969) - The Apollo 9 astronauts, left to right, James R. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart, receive flowers during a brief stopover on this Bahamian island while enroute back to Cape Kennedy. The three astronauts were launched from Cape Kennedy on March 3 from Launch Pad 39A and spent 10days in Earth orbit to test the Lunar Module Spacecraft in preparation for the upcoming manned lunar landings. Following their splashdown yesterday about 780 nautical miles southeast of Cape Kennedy, the three astronauts and their spacecraft were picked up by the USS Guadalcanal.