Apollo 8 (AS 503)
Commanding
officer:
Frank Borman
Pilot of the command module:
Capt. James A. Lovell, Jr.
Pilot of the lunar module:
Major William A. Anders
After with Apollo Mission the command and supply modulus
was tested substantially 8 should saturn V with Apollo on one be the lunar
module carried and tested in the earth orbit now. Since there still, however,
were technical difficulties at the ferry and the start couldn't be copied
out any more, the persons responsible for a flight made up their mind to the
moon only with the command and supply modulus.
The start was carried out on 21 December 1968 at 7.50
hours of American east time with the astronauts James A. Lovell, William A.
Anders and Frank Borman. The third start of one was saturn V but the first
one manned flight with it. The start was a complete success. After the jet
engines of the first degree were switched off, this separated himself from
the second degree in an altitude of 65 kilometers. Divide offing the second
degree was carried out faultlessly also after burning off the fuel. After
the rescue tower was repeled, the jet engine of the third degree which then
reached an orbit to the start around the earth with the Apollo spaceship 11
minutes and 35 seconds ignited.
To leave the earth orbit now, Apollo 8 had to be taken to
escape velocity. To make this possible the jet engine was, after reach for
it the orbit was switched off, ignited again. It burned 5 minutes and 17
seconds. The speed increased from 28044 to 39564 kilometers per hour (escape
velocity). The command and Versogrungsmodul of the third degree came loose
about 15 minutes later. Apollo 8 was on the way to the moon.
Approx. 69 hours after the start Apollo 8 had reached the
moon. The jet engine of the supply modulus was ignited for approx. 4 minutes
to reduce the present speed from 9198 to 3287 kilometers per hour. The
maneuver was carried out behind the moon and there wasn't any radio link
with the ground control. Apollo 8 was at the first two Umrundungen at an
elliptical trajectory. For this reason the jet engine was ignited at the
third circulation again to catch a perfectly circular trajectory. Apollo 8
then still orbited the moon in a distance of approx. 112 kilometers to the
surface eight times. Numerous measuring druchgeführt and possible places to
land were photographed.
The astronauts represented your impressions before.
Borman talked " disastrous, authoritative solitude, no place live and work
around there about one ". Jim Lovell described the moon surface so: It looks
" as burned " plaster or gray sea sand and finally talked about "dirty sea
sand with a lot of footprints and potholes" differently. The astronauts of
one saw the spacecraft of the rear page of the moon hervorkam, this one, for
beeindruckensten pictures always then if well: The rising earth.
The jet engine ignited for the return flight to the earth on December 25th,
1968, 20 minutes before Apollo 8 of the rear page of the moon returned.
Apollo 8 landed on water 5000 meters remotely from the country point in the
pacific ocean on December 27th, 1968, 147 hours after the start.
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