Apollo 8 is the name of the second live mission of the space program Apollo. It is the first mission to have transported men beyond the terrestrial Orbite, as well as the first live mission launched by the space Fusée Saturn V.

After being itself placed in orbit around the Ground, the vessel carried out a transfer for the lunar orbit : it was the first time that a man directly saw the “hidden side” of the Moon. This mission was also the occasion of the first celebration of Christmas in the space, at the time of which the crew carried out a reading of the Livre of the Genesis which was diffused with the Télévision.

Takeoff took place the December 21st 1968 since the Launch Complex 39A (LC39A) of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The sea landing proceeded without problems the December 27th 1968.

The crew was composed of Frank Borman, commander; Jim Lovell, pilot of the module of order and William A. Anders, pilot of the Lunar module.

The module of order is exposed to the Museum off Science and Industry of Chicago (Illinois).

Equip and crew

The mission Apollo 8 counted three team members:

Nevertheless, a temporary crew had been trained, if one of the members of the crew would be seen unable to carry out the mission. The three temporary members were:

A team was especially dedicated to the radio operator support of the team members and the planning of the mission:

The direction of the flight was delegated to three teams (one allotted a color to them: black , green , maroon ), whose directors were:

  • Cliff Charlesworth ( green TEAM );
  • Glynn Lunney ( black TEAM );
  • Milton Windler ( maroon TEAM ).

Planning of the mission

December 22nd 1966, NASA announced the team which was going to occupy the third manned flight of the Programme Apollo: Frank Borman, Michael Hakes and Bill Anders. Hakes was replaced by its substitute Jim Lovell in July 1968, after Collins had developed a Slipped disc with the cervical vertebrae which required an operation of Chirurgie. Hakes recovered and took share with the mission Apollo 11.

In September 1967, the Manned Spacecraft Center of Houston proposed a series of missions intended to prepare an inhabited lunar landing. Seven missions were preserved, each one evaluating a certain component count and specific tasks:

  • has : Module of order/service (CSM) uninhabited;

  • B : Lunar module (LM) uninhabited;
  • C : CSM inhabited in terrestrial low orbit;
  • D : CSM and LM inhabited in terrestrial low orbit;
  • E : CSM and LM inhabited in elliptic terrestrial orbit (apogee of 7400 km);
  • F : CSM and LM inhabited in lunar orbit;
  • G : Lunar landing of the inhabited lunar module.

What was going to become the mission Apollo 8 in the beginning was called “mission C”.

Of all the components of the mission, the lunar module (LM), which should in the final analysis be posed on the the Moon, raised the most difficulties. Its design was delayed, and when the first model arrived at Cap Canaveral in June 1968, more than one hundred of defects were identified. Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, principal shareholder of the module, predicted that it would not be ready before February 1969, which would delay of as much the mission.

George Low, director of the Program Apollo, proposed a solution in August. Since the CSM would be ready to launch three months before the lunar module, they could consider a flight only with this first in December 1968. Not to repeat the experiment Apollo 7, this mission was to fly in low orbit, to go to the Moon and to be possibly placed in lunar orbit. This new project was baptized “mission C precedes”, and was to make it possible NASA to evaluate the procedures of lunar landing, which would have differently to await Apollo 10 (“mission F”). The eagerness was also related to the rumors on the Soviet project Zond.

This new mission was almost adopted unanimously. Only James E. Webb, director of NASA, opposed a certain reserve. It gave however its agreement, the majority of the agency insisting. After having directed the agency during eight years, he resigned four days before the launching of the mission Apollo 7, the first manned flight of the project.

Deke Slayton, director of the operations of flight, exchanged the teams of the missions D and E. the mission E was in the final analysis cancelled, its main objectives having been realized by the missions Apollo 8 and Apollo 9.

September 9th, the team was exerted with the flight simulators to prepare with the mission. At the time of launching, each member had carried out 7 hours of simulation for each effective hour of flight.

The change of the mission Apollo 8 was publicly announced on November 12th.

The launcher Saturn V

See also: Saturn V

The space Rocket Saturn V used to put into orbit Apollo 8 was indicated SA-503. It was about the third built model. For the origin, the launcher, finished on December 20th, 1967, was not intended to allow live missions. However, the uninhabited mission Apollo 6 had encountered important problems with the material, and NASA thought that a manned flight would be enough to correct the instruments on the spot and would solve these difficulties. Mission SA-503 was thus programmed to take along men.

In addition, the direction of NASA imposed certain restrictions on the manned flights: the second stage (software firm) was to pass the cryogenic tests and of the adaptations became necessary to make the module livable. April 30th, 1967, the launcher was detached from kind to send the second stage to a laboratory to carry out the tests. The spark plugs of the second and third stage were also modified. In May 1968, an escape was identified on the level of the first stage, which required its replacement.

Having with her credit only two launchings with this rocket, the team on the ground of the Space center Kennedy had difficulties in hold the schedules. Secondary problems also affected the lunar module. The principal engine presented escapes.

In August 1968, the mission changed completely. SA-503 should take along men on the Moon, without transporting of lunar module, but an equivalent - the module of test ( Lunar Module Test Article , LTA), of the same mass than those used for the missions Apollo 4 and Apollo 6. In order to carry out the last adjustments quickly, they were delegated to separate teams. The principal modifications related to the safety of the crew.

The module Apollo 8 was placed at the top of the rocket on September 21st, which was moved of 5 km to be brought on the site of launching. It arrived there on October 9th. The tests and checks continued until the launching day before.

The mission Apollo 8

Launching and transfer

Apollo 8 was launched to 19:51: 00 (hour of the the United States) on December 21st 1968. All the phase of launching practically occurred without encumbers, only some minor problems arised. The engines of the first stage (SIC) were 0,75% less powerful than envisaged, which has allowed 2,45 seconds a prolonged combustion. After the end of the combustion of the second stage, the rocket underwent oscillations that Frank Borman evaluated with 12 Hz of frequency for approximately ±0.25 G (±2.5 m/s ²). The first launcher Saturn V inhabited placed the vessel in an elliptic orbit (181,5 km by 191,3 km) terrestrial, one period 88 minutes and 10 seconds. The real Apogée was slightly higher than the awaited value. The first stage was crushed in the Pacific Ocean, with. The second stage made in the same way, with.

The 2 hours and 38 minutes which followed, the crew and the control center made sure that the vessel was completely operational and ready to be launched on the trajectory of injection translunaire ( Trans-Lunar Injection , TLI), by a propulsion which would place the apparatus on a trajectory of transfer to the Moon. The team made sure that the third stage (S-IVB) functioned - in the preceding uninhabited tests, it had not been re-ignited.

During the flight, three men were dedicated to the communications with the capsule (the “ capcoms ”). They were normally the only ones to communicate with the crew. Michael Collins was the first to take service and 2 hours 27 minutes and 22 seconds after launching, it emitted a first radio signal: “ Apollo 8. You are Go for TLI ”. During the twelve minutes which preceded lighting, the crew continued the monitoring of the instruments. The third stage ignited at the hour known as and burned completely in 5 minutes and 17 seconds. The speed of the apparatus was increased to 10.822 m/s and the push ceased when they had reached an altitude of 346,7 km.

After the third stage had carried out the adequate operations, it separated from the apparatus. The crew then made turn the vessel to take some photographs of this one while checking that navigation functioned. They transfer, on this occasion and for the first time of their voyage, the Earth in entirety: they were the first to be attended such a spectacle in person.

Borman worried that the third stage remains so close to the apparatus, suggesting at the control center that the crew carries out an operation of separation. They proposed to point the vessel in the direction opposed to that of the Earth then to use engines RCS to gain 0,9 m/s, but Borman did not want to lose the stage of sight. After deliberation, it was decided to do it nevertheless, and by gaining 2,7 m/s. These discussions were completed by delaying one hour the flight plan of the mission.

Five hours after launching, the control center forced the third stage to consume the fuel remaining to place itself in solar orbit, of kind not to risk a collision with the mission. It was placed in elliptic orbit 0,99 by 0,92 UA, of slope 23,47° and period 340,80 days.

Approaches the Moon

The principal role of Jim Lovell as a pilot of the module of order was to supervise navigation. Although the control center carried out all calculations, it was necessary in the event of loss of connection that the crew can return on Earth. For that, it used the star S by means of a Sextant assembled in the apparatus, which made it possible to measure the angular difference between a known star and the Earth (or the Moon). This task appeared difficult, the more so as the dropping of third stage (S-IVB) had caused the formation of a remains cloud around the vessel, which made difficult the location of stars.

After seven hours of mission, the delay taken to separate from the third stage associated with measurements with Lovell showed that they were shifted one hour and approximately 40 minutes within vol. the crew placed the vessel in passive thermal control ( Passive Thermal Control , PTC), which is not other than to apply the principle of the Barbecue: the vessel rotated, at the rate/rhythm of a turn per minute, to ensure an equal distribution of heat. That proved to be necessary, insofar as the Sun can heat the side lit with more than 200 °C, whereas the side in the shade cools with -100 °C. Such variations in temperature could damage the heatshield or the integrity of the capsule, to even cause the explosion of the tanks. Since it was impossible to turn according to an axis, the apparatus described a cone while moving, movement which was to be controlled regularly, because it tended to develop.

The first correction in flight proceeded per eleventh hour after takeoff. The tests on the ground had shown that a light existing risk so that the system of propulsion of the module of service ( Service Propulsion System , SPS) explodes if it were used over long periods, unless its combustion chamber “is not prepared” initially. A means of carrying out that was to ignite the engine during one short duration, which was made during 2,4 seconds, adding 6,2 m/s at the speed of the apparatus. It was less than 7,5 m/s envisaged, and this under-performance was allotted to a Bulle of Hélium in the oxidant lines, which would have reduced the pressure of ejection. The awaited speed was reached by using the system of propulsion of the module of control to compensate ( Reaction Control System , RCS). Two additional corrections had been planned, but they were cancelled as soon as measurements indicated an almost perfect trajectory.

After eleven hours of flight, the crew had taken care more than 16 hours - having been awaked approximately 5 hours before launching. Frank Borman started its period of 7 hours sleep, but tested difficulties of sleeping. NASA had planned the hours of sleep so that at least one of the team members is waked up in order to correct possible problems, but the radio communications with the ground with the noise of the ventilators returned any attempt at difficult drowsiness. More especially as in weightlessness, the astronauts were to sleep attached and without pillows.

Approximately an hour after having begun its period of sleep, Borman asked for the authorization of take Somnifère S, which was granted to him but the pill had only few effects. After seven hours of approximate sleep, Borman awoke sick. He vomits twice and complained about diarrheas. The crew cleaned what was possible for them. Borman did not want to reveal this information on the ground, but Lovell and Anders insisted. They used the equipment of recording ( Data Storage Equipment , Of), intended to take measurements of telemetry and audio recording, which could be then propelled at high-speed in direction of the Earth. They told the health condition of Borman, then sent it to the control center, saying that they “would like an evaluation of the vocal comments. ”

A videoconference was held between the crew and the medical personnel on the second floor of the module. It was decided that was not worrying, Borman having is developed a benign Gastroentérite - what was the opinion of Borman - that is to say a reaction to the sleeping pills. Of the modern light, one thinks that it would have rather been victim of the Mal of the space, which affects approximately a third of the astronauts at the time of their first day in vol.

The voyage of transfer was done almost without encumber, the crew being satisfied to check that the instruments functioned. During this time, NASA organized a diffusion televised for the 31e hour of vol. the camera used, heavy of 2 kg, was a model wide-angle lens (160°) black and white, provided with a second objective téléphoto (9°).

During this first diffusion, the team proposed a visit of the module and tried to film the Earth. That was however difficult, the more so as the image of the camera saturated with the least source of light. After 17 minutes of emission, the rotation of the apparatus had placed the antenna apart from the field of reception of the Earth. The communication finished on the transmission of Lovell, wishing a good birthday with his/her mother.

At this stage, all the planned periods of sleep had been abandoned. After 32 ½ hours of flight, Lovell lay down, that is to say approximately 3 ½ hours before what it had provided. It was followed of Anders which took sleeping pills.

One second diffusion took place with the 55e hour. The team had, this time, found the filters adapted, which enabled them to carry out the first television program which showed the Earth in entirety. The crew spent the 23 minutes of the emission to describe what they saw there, colors, etc

Entry in lunar orbit

After approximately 55 hours and 40 minutes of flight, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first human beings to enter the gravitational sphere of influence of another celestial body: the gravitational attraction of the Moon became more intense than that of the Earth. They were then with: 62377  km of the surface of the Moon, at a speed of: 1216  m/s compared to this one. The crew always calculated his trajectory starting from the site of launching, and thus continued until the correction with semi-course which was to enable them to change reference frame to set out again on Earth. The latter was planned only for their thirteenth hour of flight in lunar orbit.

The last significant event before their entry in lunar orbit consisted in slowing down, to obtain a speed of 0,6 m/s. With the 61e hour very exactly, whereas they were with: 39000  km of the Moon, the crew lit the RCS during 11 seconds.

With the 64e hour of flight, they prepared insertion in lunar orbit ( Lunar Orbit Insertion-1, LOI-1). This operation did not allow any error and was to be carried out hidden side of the Moon, without possible contact with the Earth. The positive order was given to the 68e hour. After 68 hours and 58 minutes of flight on the whole, the vessel passed behind the Moon and lost any radio operator contact with the Earth.

Ten minutes before operation LOI-1, the crew checked the systems of the vessel. They saw finally the Moon, on the hidden side. Only two minutes separated them from launching and they had only little time to appreciate the sight.

The lighting of the engines was done 69 hours 8 minutes and 16 seconds after launching, the engine burned during 4 minutes and 13 seconds, placing Apollo 8 in lunar elliptic orbit. The crew described this moment like the “four longer minutes of their life”. If the propulsion had not lasted exactly time envisaged, the vessel would have had a very eccentric trajectory even would have been ejected in space. If it had lasted too much, they would have been crushed on the surface of the Moon. After being itself assured that the vessel functioned, they on the occasion to throw an eye with the Moon, around which they were going to be in orbit during 20 hours.

On Earth, the control center waited. If there had been a problem, the vessel appears too quickly and the corrections should be carried out quickly. At the time envisaged, a signal was accepted coming from the vessel, confirming its orbit (311,1 km by 111,9 km) around the Moon.

After having brought back the state of the vessel, Lovell gave the first description of the surface of the Moon:

The Moon is primarily gray, without color; resemble the Plâtre or a grisonnant sand species of beach. One can badly see not details. The Mer of the Fertility is not presented as well here as it does it on Earth. There is not as much contrast between it and the surrounding craters. The craters are very rounded. There is not badly, some are more recent. Much of them - particularly round-offs - seems to be struck by various Météorite S or projectiles. Langrenus is rather a large crater; it has a cone in the center. The walls of the crater are flattened, approximately six or seven different terraces down there.

Lovell continued its description of the ground. One of the tasks dedicated to the crew consisted in carrying out a recognition for a lunar landing, in particular on Mare Tranquillitatis where Apollo 11 was to be posed. The launching of Apollo 8 had been selected so that the site is correctly enlightened. A camera made sure that each second of the Moon would be recorded. Bill Anders passed the 20 hours main part to take photographs of known places. At the end of the mission, they had 700 photographs of the Moon, and 150 of the Earth.

During the hour during which the vessel was in contact with the Earth, Borman required information on the data of the SPS. He wanted to make sure that the engines functioned and could be used to return on Earth where necessary.

During their second appearance, the crew diffused images of the surface of the Moon. Anders described the craters with the top of which they passed. At the end of this second orbit, they initiated procedure LOI-2, 11 seconds of propulsion which was to make the orbit circular (112,6 km by 114,8 km). At the time of the two following orbits, the team dealt with maintenance and photographed the Moon.

When the vessel appeared for the fourth time, they attended an event ever observed: a “ground rising”. They took a photograph black and white of it, then one colors. It is important to notice that, the Moon and the Earth turning in a synchronous way, one never observed such “a Ground rising” from lunar surface - it is the displacement of the vessel, in orbit, which allowed this phenomenon.

Anders still took some photographs, while Lovell dealt with navigation, making it possible Borman to rest. It succeeds in drowsing during two orbits. Borman awoke by noticing that his/her comrades started to have difficulties. They had taken care for three days. Taking again the orders, they invited them to sleep, which opposed it to some protests on behalf of Anders. This last gave finally its agreement, provided that the commander placed the camera of kind to take automatic images of the Moon.

At the time of their ninth orbit, a new televised transmission took seat. Borman introduced the team, then each one made share of its impressions on lunar surface and what they thought of their adventure. After having spoken about the Moon, Anders declared that they had a message for all those on Earth.

All that remained to be made consisted in from now on carrying out the injection transterrestre ( Trans-Earth Injection , TEI), who would allow them to return on Earth and would occur 2 ½ hours after the end of the televised transmission. It was the riskiest stage of all the vol. If the SPS did not ignite, they would be blocked in lunar orbit, with 5 days of oxygen and any possibility of exit. Once more, this lighting was to be made when the apparatus was hidden by the Moon, without possibility of contact with the Earth.

Lighting occurred at said time, the telemetric data of the apparatus were updated and the vessel reappeared at 89 hours 28 minutes and 39 seconds. When the radio operator contact was restored, Lovell announced: “Be informed that there is a Father Christmas. ”. It what Ken Mattingly, the capcom, answered: “Affirmative, you are well placed for the knowledge. ”

Manual realignment

During one period of spare time, Lovell carried out some operations and adjustments, in order to see some star S. By doing this, an handling error erased part of the memory of the Ordinateur of control, which caused an error in the inertial measuring unit ( Inertial Measuring Unit , IMU). It indicated that the module was in the same position that before takeoff and used the engines “to correct” the trajectory.

Once the crew the reason of this error, it understood that it had carried out had to introduce all the unobtrusive data manually to correct the computer by indicating his exact position. It took 10 minutes for Lovell to evaluate this modification, being based on the observation of the stars Rigel and Sirius, and 15 minutes more to carry out the corrections on the computer.

Sixteen months later, Lovell was to again carry out this kind of corrections, under more critical conditions, during the flight Apollo 13. In its book, Lost Moon: The Perilous Travels off Apollo 13 (which was famous Apollo 13 when the film éponyme appeared on the screens), written Lovell, “My drive Apollo 8 appeared useful! ”.

Return to earth

The voyage of return to earth was above all for the crew one period of relaxation, and light maintenance of the apparatus. The specialists had determined the trajectory of return, which allowed the module to return in the atmosphere 2 ½ days after having left the lunar orbit, and to land on sea in the Pacific Ocean.

December 25th afternoon, the crew carried out his fifth and last television program: the three men presented a small visit of the module, showing how an astronaut lives in space. After this one, they found a small present of Deke Slayton dissimulated in the reserve with food: true a Turkey stuffed, three miniature bottles of brandy - which remained closed - as well as small presents for their wives.

After two days calm, the crew prepared with the re-entry: the computer controlled the trajectory and the team was to bring the vessel in the good position. In the event of failure of the computing system, Borman would have taken over.

After being itself separate module of service, the crew sat down in the module of control to wait the six minutes before the re-entry. They observed a luminous fog, due to the formation of plasma around the capsule. The latter decelerated gradually, reaching to the maximum 6 G (59 m/s ²). To 9 km of altitude, a first parachute stabilized the apparatus. It was reinforced, to 3 km, by the three principal parachutes. The position of sea landing was envisaged with.

By reaching water, the parachutes carried the vessel which was found reversed (position envisaged by the engineers, under the name of stable 2 position ). After having plunged 3 m, the three balloons of floating rectified the capsule. The first frogmen arrived 43 minutes after the sea landing, and it capsule was carried on board the US Yorktown .

Historical context

Apollo 8 is held with the end of the year 1968, one year when many upheavals occur in the world:
  • the tanks Soviet S had put a stop at the demonstrations of Prague in what one will call the “Printemps of Prague”;
  • Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King was assassinated;
  • the Guerre of Vietnam had taken an important turning with the Offensive of the Small fireclay cup;
  • the campuses of the American universities rebelled;
  • Manifestation of the students in May 1968 in Paris.

It is also in a context of Cold war that the mission is programmed. However, its success traced the way which will make it possible NASA to fill the objective laid down by the president John Fitzgerald Kennedy: to be posed on the the Moon before the end of the decade.

This mission was best covered médiatiquement since the first American orbital flight - Mercury Atlas 6 in 1962. Nearly 1200 journalists covered event, the BBC re-emitting in 54 countries and more than 15 different languages. The Soviet newspaper Pravda even did its one of them.

After the mission, Frank Borman accepted a telegram, of unknown author, on whom one could read: “Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968. ”. The most outstanding element of the mission seems to be the photography of the “Ground rising”: 111,9 km

  • Apoapse: 311,1 km
  • Slope: 12°
  • Period: 128,7 min

Firing of the system of injection translunaire on December 21st 1968 with 15:41: 38 UTC.

Badge of the mission

The badge carried by the team members is of triangular form - as the module of ordering of Apollo. One sees one there “8” red, which intertwines the Ground and the the Moon and which represents the number of the mission as well as its objective (to go from the Earth to the Moon and to return). On this figure are registered in white the names of the team members.

The drawing of origin is due to the one of the astronauts, Jim Lovell.

Cultural references

Literature

In its novels Of the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon , Jules Verne describes a mission curiously similar (rotation around the Moon, return in the sea, crew of three people, etc ), more or less: launching by a gigantic gun, weightlessness existing only at the point of balance between gravities terrestrial and lunar, etc ).

Cinema and television

NASA justified the creation of films to summarize each mission, which are often diffused in the museums, like Pacific Science Center of Seattle. The images taken by the crew also were published, in the form of television programs and were recorded. A recent republication with format DVD is available since 2003.

Part of the mission Apollo 8 is put in scene in the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon , in an episode entitled “ 1968 ”.

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