The Command/Service Module (CSM) built by North American Rockwell was home to three astronauts for the entire mission. The cone-shaped command module is the only part of the entire 110-meter stack that returned to Earth.
The service module carried the main SPS engine for insertion into and departure from lunar orbit, fuel cells producing electricity and water, and the oxygen supply. During reentry the command module was protected by an ablative heat shield that burned away in a controlled manner at temperatures exceeding 2,700 °C. Today Columbia is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
CSM Columbia by the numbers
- LENGTH (CSM)
- 11,0 m
- MASS
- 28 800 kg
- CREW
- 3
- SPS ENGINE THRUST
- 91 kN
- LUNAR ORBITS
- 30
- MANUFACTURER
- North American Rockwell
Gallery
Follow us
Follow us on social media
New plates, trivia and behind-the-scenes updates as soon as they are ready.
Facts
- Columbia was the only part of the Apollo 11 spacecraft to return to Earth — its reentry capsule is now on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
- While Armstrong and Aldrin were on the Moon, Michael Collins remained alone aboard Columbia in lunar orbit — while flying over the far side of the Moon he was out of radio contact with anyone.
- The name Columbia referred to the spacecraft in Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon.
Sources & further reading
- NSSDCA Master Catalog (NASA) — record of the Apollo 11 Command and Service Module.
- Wikipedia: Apollo (spacecraft) — base structure of the article, CC-BY-SA 4.0.
- NASA History Office — Apollo Program.
Spaceflightpedia. (n.d.). CSM Columbia. Retrieved 9 October 2026, from https://spaceflightpedia.com/article/csm-columbia
article text — CC-BY-SA · ◉ NASA photography — public domain · ✦ AI illustration — marked, generated from sources
