NASA announced an Apollo mission schedule calling for six flights in 1968 and five in 1969. NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight George E. Mueller said the schedule and alternative plans provided a schedule under which a limited number of Apollo command and service modules and lunar landing modules, configured for lunar landing might be launched on test flights toward the moon by the end of the decade. Apollo/uprated Saturn I flights were identified with a 200 series number; Saturn V flights were identified with a 500 series number.

The 1968 schedule was:

• Apollo/Saturn 204 - first unmanned test of the LM in earth orbit
• Apollo/Saturn 502 - second unmanned flight test of the Saturn V and Apollo CSM
• Apollo/Saturn 503 - third unmanned test of the Saturn V and Apollo CSM
• Apollo/Saturn 206 - second unmanned flight test of LM in earth orbit
• Apollo/Saturn 205 - first Apollo manned flight, a 10-day mission to qualify the CSM for further manned missions
• Apollo/Saturn 504 - first manned Apollo flight on Saturn V. This mission would provide first manned operation in space with both the CSM and LM, including crew transfer from CSM to LM and rendezvous and docking.

These flights would be flown in the above order and as rapidly as all necessary preparations could be completed.

The 1969 flight schedule called for five manned Apollo/Saturn V flights, AS-505 through AS-509. Four of these-505, 506, 507, and 508-were programmed as lunar mission development flights or lunar mission simulations. It was considered possible that the lunar landing could be made on Apollo/Saturn 509, but it was also possible this might be delayed until one of the remaining six Saturn V flights. References: 16 .