Apollo-8 (24)

Pad 39-A (3)

Saturn-V AS-503 (3)

High Bay 1

MLP 1

Firing Room 1

 

Crew:

Frank Borman, Commander

James A. Lovell, Jr.

William A. Anders

 

Backup Crew:

Milestones:

12/24/67 - S-II Stage ondock at KSC

12/27/67 - S-1C Stage ondock at KSC

12/30/67 - S-IVB ondock at KSC

01/04/68 - S-IU ondock at KSC

08/14/68 - Launch Vehicle at Pad

10/17/68 - Spacecraft at Pad

12/11/68 - Countdown Demonstration Test

12/21/68 - Launch

 

Payload:

CSM-103

 

Mission Objective:

Demonstrate crew/space vehicle/mission support facilities during manned Saturn V/CSM mission. Demonstrate translunar injection, CSM navigation, communications, and midcourse corrections. Assess CSM consumables and passive thermal control. Demonstrate CSM performance in cislunar and lunar orbit environment. Demonstrate communications and tracking at lunar distances. Return high-resolution photographs of proposed Apollo landing sites and locations of scientific interest. All mission objectives were achieved.

 

Launch:

December 21, 1968, 07:51:00 a.m. EST. Kennedy Space Center.Launch Complex 39-A.

 

 

Orbit:

Altitude: 190km x 180km

Inclination: xxx degrees

Orbits:

Duration: 6 Days, 3 hours, 0 min, 42 seconds

Distance: miles

 

Landing:

December 27, 1968; 10:52 am EST; Landing point 8deg 7.5min North and 165deg 1.2min West. Miss distance was 2.5km; Splashdown time, December 27, 1968 at 10:52 a.m. EST; MET: 147:00:42. Crew on board U.S.S Yorktown at 12:20 p.m. EST; Spacecraft aboard ship at 01:20 p.m.

 

Mission Highlights:

Apogee, 190 kilometers; perigee 180 kilometers. Translunar injection at 02:56:05.5 MET; maximum distance from earth, 376,745 kilometers; lunar orbit insertion 69:08:20 MET; lunar orbit 312km by 111km; transearth injection, 89:19:17 MET.

 

In lunar orbit 20 hours, with 10 orbits. First manned lunar orbital mission. Support facilities tested. Photographs taken of Earth and Moon. Live TV broadcasts.

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