SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The San Diego Air & Space Museum will kick off its yearlong 50 Years of Apollo celebration Wednesday with an event commemorating the Apollo 9 spacecraft's splashdown landing.

Apollo 9 was the first of four Apollo flights in 1969, including the Apollo 11 mission that touched down on the moon in July of that year. The mission was the country's third manned spaceflight during the Apollo program, lasting 10 days in low Earth orbit.

According to the Air & Space Museum, Cmdr. James McDivitt and pilots David Scott and Rusty Schweickart -- Apollo 9's three crew members -- and flight directors Gerry Griffin and Gene Kranz are expected to attend the event.

"Anyone and everyone who remembers NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo legacy space programs will want to be here for this incredible evening commemorating one of America's finest achievements," said museum President and CEO Jim Kidrick.

The event is expected to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Air & Space Museum at 2001 Pan American Plaza. Residents can visit sandiegoairandspace.org to purchase tickets, which begin at $10.95 for children ages 3-11. The museum will also cease selling tickets at 2:30 p.m. and close early at 3 p.m. to accommodate the event.