APOLLO 8 Modern doc
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Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
I need Jim to keep a close eye on my yaw from now on.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
We’re a little bit right. We need to go left just a little bit and keep the horizon right there.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
We have a good horizon now, but it looks like we’re yawing too much to the left.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
The control arming is not too good in this. You get a lot more pitch than you do yaw and roll.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Hey… looking back, there’s the Moon! At 6 minutes before separation, just like it says in the flight plan. We may end up losing our horizon when that Moon goes down though.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Getting really close to home now and no turning back from this point onwards.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Old Mother Earth has us firmly in her gravitational grip now!
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Voltage is great – 28 volts. It’s getting a little hazy out there. Does that mean anything I wonder?
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
We’re starting to get a little reflection off the Earth I guess.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
I’m wondering if we should do a little airglow photography right now.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
We’re about to lose the Moon, but our yaw’s looking good.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Looks like there’s a lot of lightning down there on Earth, so we may get some interference on our signal.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Bill’s a space rookie - never seen the airglow, so I made sure to tell him to have a good look at it.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
You can’t get your astronaut pin without seeing the airglow.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
I see it. I see the airglow. No more need for these veteran guys to keep rubbing in my rookie spaceflight status. I think this is the point in the flight plan at which I’m supposed to ask how many g’s we are experiencing now.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
I’ve got to start this thing automatically if Jim doesn’t give it to me. God, it is hazy out there. That’s a very different lighting effect to what has been seen before.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
This is a critical point in the re-entry procedure as the spaceship starts to hit the outer layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. If the approach is too shallow, the spacecraft will skip off the atmosphere back out into space and no recovery will be possible.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
However, if the approach is too steep, the spacecraft will burn up in the atmosphere and the crew will be lost. The trajectory has to be just right with almost no margin for error at all – just 1 degree either way.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Down below in the mid-Pacific 1,000 miles south-west of Hawaii, sits the aircraft carrier Yorktown waiting to recover them. They will land in the Pacific during the dark hours just before dawn.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
It will be perhaps 50 minutes before first light at which point the navy swimmers will jump from the hovering helicopters, attach a floatation collar to the capsule, recover the astronauts, get them up into one of the helicopters and take them to the Yorktown.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
The spacecraft will separate from its service module just 15 minutes before it fully enters the atmosphere. Then, once it hits the atmosphere at almost 25,000 mph and heats up to almost 5,000 degrees, the heatshield on the base of the capsule will almost melt away.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Even though this will be by far the hottest re-entry ever attempted, the heatshield and the spacecraft’s cooling system should keep the temperature inside the capsule in the 70s.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
When the capsule with the returning astronauts gets down to an altitude of just 10,000 feet, three big parachutes should open up and then, just five minutes later, the Moon-circling spacecraft will drop, gently we hope, into the Pacific.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
The weather in the recovery area is said to be good with scattered clouds at 2,000 feet with more clouds around 12,000 feet. Visibility is expected to be around 10 miles once the Sun comes up and there is a possibility of some scattered showers.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
There are, however, 4 foot swells that will bob the spacecraft up and down and side to side so the astronauts might feel some discomfort there, perhaps even seasickness. The capsule they will be sitting in on the Pacific is sometimes referred to as “a mighty fine spacecraft, but a lousy boat.”
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
I’m no longer reading Houston on VHF!
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
We have just carried out a VHF check with the spacecraft and it didn’t work out so well. Neither Carnavon nor Guam picked up the signal from Apollo 8.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
Velocity of the Apollo 8 spacecraft is now up to 18,532 feet per second. Thankfully, we have re-established voice comms with the crew.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
We can read the crew on the antenna, but not on the S-band or VHF.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Everything went fine with the pyro arm circuit check. We are now all armed and ready to initiate separation from the command module.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffairsNASA
After the pryos fire and the service module is jettisoned, we will initiate a precept burn of 90 feet per second on the service module which will continue for some time as its new trajectory carries it 100 miles or so south of the crew in the command module.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffairsNASA
It is not known exactly what will happen to the service module after jettison. Some people think it will come down to an altitude of about 300,000 feet, hit the thicker atmosphere and then bounce out into an orbit around the Sun.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffairsNASA
Others think it will be captured by Earth’s gravity, continue to plunge towards the Earth and burn up before any of its pieces reach the Pacific Ocean. We are not able to predict with certainty at this point, but we do believe it will be well out of the way of the descent of the command module.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
All the consoles here in Mission Control have been reconfigured for the upcoming re-entry and recovery of Apollo 8.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
We are now able to receive Apollo 8 loud and clear through the Carnarvon relay station. Also telemetry. The velocity of the spacecraft continues to increase dramatically and our display here now integrates a new higher value every 12 seconds.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
The latest velocity reading, updated seconds ago, shows Apollo 8 travelling at an incredible 23,303 feet per second, going up in increments now of 50 to 60 feet per second. Altitude is now just 4,950 nautical miles above the Earth.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffairsNASA
For reference purposes, it’s worth noting at this point that the peak velocity reached by any spacecraft prior to this mission was 26,352 feet per second achieved by the Gemini 11 spacecraft at perigee after its high altitude burn.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffairsNASA
We are confident Apollo 8 will massively improve on that speed record in the coming minutes. At the point of entry interface, we expect the spacecraft’s velocity to peak at around 36,220 feet per second. That is an incredible 24,530 miles per hour!
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
The Apollo 8 crew should now be firmly tied down into their couches in preparation for their fiery re-entry as they prepare to blast through Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Paul Hane
y @PHPublicAffairsNASA
Apollo 8 will be the fourth manned flight to be returned to the Pacific area. Coincidentally, all of the 8 series flights have splashed down in the Pacific: Mercury 8, Gemini 8 and now Apollo 8.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
I have advised the Apollo 8 crew that their primary evaporator has now completely dried out – a fact that they could not care less about. Three minutes from now they will say goodbye to that entire system and the service module.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
We’re just two minutes away from separation. That horizon’s getting harder to find.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
We’re within 30 degrees of the necessary attitude.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
The spacecraft is now in the narrow corridor they must thread in order to make a safe return to Earth through the blazing heat as they punch through the atmosphere – almost 5,000 degrees on the surface of their spacecraft.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
If the spacecraft hits the atmosphere at too steep an angle, the capsule will hit the atmosphere with all the force of a plane crashing into the side of a mountain.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Even approaching at exactly the right angle, this will still be the hottest re-entry ever made in this age of space flight.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
We are now just a minute and a half from separation. Of course, the spacecraft cannot return to Earth with the service module still attached, so separation must take place successfully. This is critical.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
If the service module separates successfully, that will leave only the command module to return to Earth. That re-entry vehicle is only about 12 feet high, and that is all that will come back of the complete 363-foot entire vehicle that blasted off from the Cape last Saturday.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
We are now less than 1 minute away from firing the pyros and separation of the command module from the service module.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffaisNASA
The spacecraft is now approaching the 400,000 foot mark at which point many of our events begin to happen. This is where they will reach some small amounts of the upper atmosphere.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffaisNASA
The blackout period should begin some 45 seconds after the 400,000 foot mark. During the period of blackout, we will be unable to listen to or speak to the astronauts. Total blackout we are expecting this morning should be exactly 3 minutes.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Separation of the command module from the service module should have happened at this point. However, we are hearing no confirmation ot that yet.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffaisNASA
As the spacecraft hits the first breaking point at 180,000 feet, the maximum g-force experienced by the crew should be 6.8 g’s. A second spike of 4.5 g’s should be felt 4 minutes later.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffaisNASA
However, since we have no experience of re-entering at these extreme velocities, we must caution that these figures are only estimates.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
We are still waiting for confirmation that the separation maneuver has been completed successfully.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
According to our animation on our timeline, separation should have taken place by now. However, we are hearing no confirmation of that from Mission Control, Houston or from the astronauts themselves.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
It is now coming up to 10.24 EST. The communications from Mission Control to the spacecraft sound normal, but they have still not confirmed separation for us.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Of course, separation does not have to be confirmed by voice – by the voices of the astronauts themselves. There is telemetry aboard which should tell Mission Control that separation has indeed taken place.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
We heard that calm voice of Ken Mattingly a moment ago confirming that the spacecraft’s secondary loop was all right. That would seem that everything is going as planned, but we have still received no confirmation of a successful separation.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffaisNASA
Flight Director Milton Windler has just confirmed to the room that separation of the service and command module has indeed taken place!
Milton Windler @MWFlightApollo8
We are looking at the data on the command module alone and all the values look good.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
So separation has taken place. We’re not sure it took place on the nominal schedule, but all systems look good so apparently things have gone well to this point.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffaisNASA
We are estimating that the crew at this point are still heads down tracking the horizon visually through the rendezvous windows.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Let’s see where this baby wants me to fly. The pitch is way up right now. It keeps wanting to yaw off to the right. It must be because we’re boiling.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
We ARE boiling… really boiling right now.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Luckily we have Leo Krupp sitting in a mock up of the re-entry vehicle who is able to explain to us exactly what Commander Borman must do to ensure a safe re-entry and landing of the Apollo 8 re-entry vehicle.
Leo Krupp @LKTestAstronautRockwell
The vehicle is plunging into the atmosphere and pressure on the atmosphere will be increasing to about 6 g’s. At this time, the lift of the vehicle starts to take effect and the g’s will start to decrease.
Leo Krupp @LKTestAstronautRockwell
Borman will be monitoring position of the craft within the curved lines marked out on his display. The outer lines on that display are ‘skip out rays’. It is critical that the pilot never lets the spacecraft get beyond one of those lines on the display.
Leo Krupp @LKTestAstronautRockwell
If the spacecraft does get beyond one of those outer lines on the display, it will leave the atmosphere. If the spacecraft does leave the atmosphere at this point, it will go into orbit and no second attempt or recovery will be possible.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
There will be a couple of shifts in altitude as the vehicle descends through the atmosphere. When the craft gets to around 90,000 feet, it will ‘bounce’ back up 20,000 feet to about110,000 feet.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Then at about 40,000 to 50,000 feet, there’ll be another of these ‘roller coaster’ effects, skipping up another 10,000 feet or so until they eventually begin their final descent just before the parachutes come out.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
We have sunrise. Okay, here we go! God damn! This is going to be a real ride! We all need to hang on. Wow! I’ve never seen it this bright before!
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
We’re hanging on. Jim is calling out the g’s.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Okay, we’re getting it! 0.05 g.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
They’re building up. Now at 1 g… 2.. 3..
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
5 g’s… 6 g’s… She’s doing a great job!
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
We are looking at an animation of the capsule plunging through the atmosphere, and it is entirely possible that this man-made meteor can be seen in the dark skies above the Pacific Ocean right now.
Graphic of the fiery re-entry of Apollo 8
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
No manned spacecraft has ever entered the Earth’s atmosphere at this speed. Orbiting spacecraft come in at about 17,500 mph. Apollo 8 is coming in at nearly 25,000 mph – quite a difference.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
; Down to 4 g’s… 3 g’s… 2 g’s now.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Glow is the damndest thing I ever saw! Gemini was never like that.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Now Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders after 6 days in space on the most epic adventure in history are in the final most critical minutes of their flight.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
The command module is now on its own – no longer connected to the service module and so the capsule with the returning astronauts is re-entering the atmosphere with splashdown expected just a few moments after re-entry.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
If the spacecraft and crew survive re-entry at the incredible speed they are travelling, we can expect splashdown in the Pacific Ocean just minutes from now.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Splashdown is expected to be just a few seconds off the original time planned 4 months ago when the flight plan for Apollo 8 was put to paper. What incredible levels of precision, brainpower and skill these NASA engineers and planners work to.