aircommando130 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Apollo 8 launched 50 years ago today. First manned Saturn V launch and it went to lunar orbit with no lunar module. A great engineering feat and confidence in the hardware for a first manned flight. Thank goodness they didn't have the Apollo 13 service module. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Been reading a lot about the program lately. Dug up all my books about the subject. So, although I think I know "everything", it still feels surreal so many years has passed. And we never went back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wombat Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 (edited) You could probably say it was the most daring mission of the Apollo program. It proved they could get there and back safely, which thankfully they did. As mentioned above they did all this on the first manned flight of a Saturn V which was the first flight of a Saturn V after the issues the Apollo VI flight experienced. Incredible really! Edited December 22, 2018 by Wombat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 I'm happy to see Borman, Lovell and Anders are still with us and I hope that this mission is remembered and honoured on this 50th anniversary. And yeah, this mission was one helluva risk ... back when risk taking was de riguer at NASA. But I still struggle to comprehend the 'cojones' these 3 test pilots had, to sit on top of that Saturn V and trust the calculations to ... go ... to ... the ... moon. Wow! Spectacular ... just spectacular. I remember going in to the backyard with my binoculars, when Walter Cronkite told us that Apollo 8 was about to go behind the Moon, to try to see a speck of light just 69 miles from the Moon's surface ... well, I didn't and my father had a good chuckle over that one, but hey, it sparked a life long interest in the US space program. As has been said, Apollo 8 saved 1968. Hm-m-m, there's another 50th anniversary of something coming up too ... now ... what ... was ... it ... ? Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 I think it safe to describe the Apollo missions as amazing, as in "informal use: startlingly impressive." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 While it's sad it took a (Cold) war to achieve this feat, it was a milestone feat for the human race. I remember the photos and video footage taken by the astronauts of the Gemini program shown on news programs. Apollo was the icing on the cake, especially as photography got better in space. I remember the Apollo 8 broadcast from lunar orbit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 4 hours ago, Slartibartfast said: While it's sad it took a (Cold) war to achieve this feat, it was a milestone feat for the human race. It was indeed the Cold War that propelled the US to the moon. 9 hours ago, K2Pete said: I'm happy to see Borman, Lovell and Anders are still with us and I hope that this mission is remembered and honoured on this 50th anniversary. They're the only full Apollo crew living. The 24 astronauts of Apollo 8 and 10 through 17 are still the only people who've left low earth orbit (LEO). Only 4 of the 12 men who've walked on the moon are still living. And it's not assured any of them will be with us the next time humans leave LEO, let alone step onto another planet or even the moon again... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 That XKCD graphic is sobering. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ApolloMan Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 (edited) The moon has been a wonderful sight the last few days. Being a super moon I think. My wife brought me the Apollo 8 book for Xmas, but I'm not supposed to know that till tomorrow. It's by Jeffrey Kluger, I have read his Apollo 13, which was fantastic. I look forward to this next read. Edited December 25, 2018 by ApolloMan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aircommando130 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 You will love that book! I got it when it first came out and re reading it now. Yes...The moon has been awesome the last few nights. My dad was in the Air Force attached to NASA in Houston from 1964-1969. Worked the engines on the Lunar Module. He took mom and me and my sister to the Cape to watch Apollo 9, 10 and 11 launch. I'm 61 now and those days watching that Saturn V go was just like yesterday. He passed away almost 7 years ago...wish he could of made it to the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. His decent stage is still sitting there with the others. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 NPR interviewed Jim Lovell on a spot played today, about both 8 and 13. Very interesting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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