{"id":17395,"date":"2018-12-22T17:04:40","date_gmt":"2018-12-22T22:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17395"},"modified":"2018-12-22T17:04:40","modified_gmt":"2018-12-22T22:04:40","slug":"on-its-50th-anniversary-apollo-8-gets-the-appreciation-it-deserves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17395","title":{"rendered":"On its 50th anniversary, Apollo 8 gets the appreciation it deserves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a title=\"Apollo 8 | NASA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/apollo\/apollo-8.html\">Apollo 8 mission<\/a> launched on Dec. 21, 1968 with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr. and William Anders on board. About two and half hours after liftoff, the S-IV third stage fired for a second time and put their spacecraft on a trajectory to the Moon. The crew members became the first humans to fly beyond low earth orbit.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Wfd0oC3eFWw?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The S-IV soon separated from the Apollo command service module and the spacecraft reached the Moon on Dec. 24th, going into orbit after the firing of the service module engine while on the far side. The crew orbited the Moon for 10 hours and would have been stuck there forever if the engine had not re-fired as planned. It did fire and the crew made it back to earth for a safe splashdown in the Pacific on Dec. 27th. The extremely risky mission was a tremendous success and its accomplishments made it possible for the US to achieve the goal set by John F. Kennedy of putting a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>I <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17281\">recently wrote<\/a> about the <a href=\"http:\/\/genesisearthrise.com\/\">audiobook version<\/a> of Bob Zimmerman&#8217;s 1998 book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B07FD3KPRG\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B07FD3KPRG&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=hobbyspace&amp;linkId=5df79646cc48e3e6a26d75aa0384c782\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8: The First Manned Mission to Another World<\/a><\/em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&amp;l=am2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B07FD3KPRG\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" \/>.\u00a0 Today Bob reflects on the mission, his book, and the growing appreciation of the significance of the Apollo 8 mission, which had nearly been lost in the glow of Apollo 11: <a title=\"Apollo 8: Fifty years ago | Behind The Black\" href=\"https:\/\/behindtheblack.com\/behind-the-black\/essays-and-commentaries\/apollo-8-fifty-years-ago\/\">Apollo 8: Fifty years ago | Behind The Black<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>What I find gratifying is that it appears my goal in writing the book in 1998 has been an unparalleled success. Today alone there have been three major stories celebrating Apollo 8 and its legacy, from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/history\/2018\/12\/20\/apollo-nasas-first-moonshot-was-bold-terrifying-improvisation\/?utm_term=.8bed339e4ca1&amp;noredirect=on\">Washington Post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/apollo-8-50-years-later-the-greater-leap\/\">Scientific American<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/newatlas.com\/apollo-8-50-earthrise\/57038\/\">New Atlas<\/a>. In the past week there have another half dozen. I expect dozens more in the coming week. All so far have gotten their facts right, and have been able to tell the story correctly of this nerve-racking mission given 50-50 odds of success. More important, all have understood thoroughly the political and historical context of the mission, and the long term impact that it had.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17396\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17396\" style=\"width: 520px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/multimedia\/imagegallery\/iotd.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"17396\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?attachment_id=17396\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/s68-560501.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3000,4408\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Apollo 8 lifts off.\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Fifty years ago on Dec. 21, 1968, Apollo 8 launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center at 7:51 a.m. ES)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/s68-560501-697x1024.jpg\" class=\"size-large wp-image-17396\" src=\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/s68-560501-697x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/s68-560501-697x1024.jpg 697w, https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/s68-560501-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/s68-560501-768x1128.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17396\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Fifty years ago on Dec. 21, 1968, Apollo 8 launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center at 7:51 a.m. EST). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/multimedia\/imagegallery\/iotd.html\">NASA Image of the Da<\/a>y.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">====<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1\" alt=\"\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/b?_encoding=UTF8&amp;tag=hobbyspace&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;linkId=9ad77237101a529e858b08c724b1d0e6&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;node=499320\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Telescopes and Binoculars at Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Apollo 8 mission launched on Dec. 21, 1968 with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr. and William Anders on board. About two and half hours after liftoff, the S-IV third stage fired for a second time and put their spacecraft on a trajectory to the Moon. The crew members became the first humans to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17395\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">On its 50th anniversary, Apollo 8 gets the appreciation it deserves<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,44,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-spaceflight-parabolic-flight","category-the-moon"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-4wz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16224,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16224","url_meta":{"origin":17395,"position":0},"title":"Run a realistic Apollo 8 guidance computer emulation","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"December 21st of this year will mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the\u00a0Apollo 8 mission\u00a0to the Moon. Astronauts\u00a0Frank Borman,\u00a0James Lovell, and William Anders\u00a0became the first humans to leave Earth and orbit another celestial body. The mission was extremely risky. The\u00a0Saturn\u00a0V\u00a0rocket had only launched twice before and never with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ScreenCap-Apollo8Computer-RickBooze-1r.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11972,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11972","url_meta":{"origin":17395,"position":1},"title":"Wonderful view of earth rising above the Moon&#8217;s horizon","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A great picture from the Moon: NASA Releases New High-Res Earthrise Image NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter\u00a0(LRO) recently captured a unique view of Earth from the spacecraft's\u00a0vantage point in orbit around the moon. Click for larger version. \"The image is simply stunning,\" said Noah Petro, Deputy Project Scientist for\u00a0LRO\u00a0at NASA's Goddard\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Multiple media&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Multiple media","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=36"},"img":{"alt_text":"earth_and_limb_m1199291564l_color_2stretch_mask_0[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/earth_and_limb_m1199291564l_color_2stretch_mask_01-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5777,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=5777","url_meta":{"origin":17395,"position":2},"title":"Video: Earthrise &#8211; The 45th Anniversary","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This NASA video describes the taking of the famous Earth-rise photo by the astronauts on Apollo 8 during their orbit of the Moon: http:\/\/youtu.be\/dE-vOscpiNc Caption: In December of 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first people to leave our home planet and travel to another body in space.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/dE-vOscpiNc\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18267,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=18267","url_meta":{"origin":17395,"position":3},"title":"SpaceIL Beresheet fires engine to send it to the Moon","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"SpaceIL's Beresheet lunar spacecraft successfully fired its engine to extend its orbit to the Moon: \ud83c\udf17 Moon Travel Report #6 \ud83c\udf17 Another successful maneuver! The engine was activated for 60 sec & all systems are functioning\ud83d\udc4d\ud83c\udffd. #Beresheet is on an elliptical orbit, will meet the #moon - the furthest point\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Space participation&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Space participation","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=14"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image0011-1024x769.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14655,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14655","url_meta":{"origin":17395,"position":4},"title":"Video: Apollo 11 lunar landing anniversary","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been 48 years since humans first walked on the Moon and 45 years too long since humans walked on the Moon. July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind\u00a0 https:\/\/youtu.be\/hxPbnFc7iU8 July 1969. It's a little over eight years since the flights of Gagarin and Shepard, followed quickly by President\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/as11-40-5961hr1-1017x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11715,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11715","url_meta":{"origin":17395,"position":5},"title":"Seeds descended from the Apollo 14 &#8220;Moon Trees&#8221; to go to the lunar surface","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"UK space activist Phill Parker sent the following announcement to me about his latest project: UK Man to Send Apollo 14 Moon Trees Back to the Moon in 2017 - This Time to Land on the Moon! Apollo 14 launched in the late afternoon of January 31, 1971 on what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"MoonSycamore","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/MoonSycamore.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17397,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17395\/revisions\/17397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}