The suborbital flight was a partially successful demonstration of the service propulsion system and the reaction control systems of both modules, and successfully demonstrated the capability of the command module's heat shield to survive re-entry from low Earth orbit.

CM-009 was the second production Block I command module to fly, the first being CM-002 flown on a Little Joe II rocket for the final launch escape system abort test, designated A-004.

It varied from the production configuration by replacement of the electrical power-generating fuel cells with batteries, and omission of the S-band communication equipment.

The first piece of the rocket to arrive at the Cape was the S-IB stage on August 14, 1965, by the barge Promise.

The RCA 110A computer which would test the rocket and thus, automating the process, was ten days behind schedule meaning that it would not be at the Cape before November 1.

When the computer finally did arrive it continued to have problems with the punch cards and also the capacitors that did not operate well under a protective coating.

As it ran past midnight, when the time changed from 2400 to 0001 the computer could not handle it and "turned into a pumpkin" according to an interview with Frank Bryan, a Kennedy Space Center Launch Vehicle Operations Engineering staff member.

It splashed down 37 minutes after launch, 72 kilometers (39 nmi) from the planned touch down point, and was on board the aircraft carrier USS Boxer two hours later.

The service module engine worked properly for only 80 seconds, interrupted by the presence of helium pressurant gas in the combustion chamber.

The second problem was an electrical system failure which caused the command module to lose steering control during reentry.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.