Happy 40th Anniversary Apollo 8

[schlaugh]

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 8 mission, humanity's first in-person visit to another world.

It hardly seems that long ago...

Apollo 8

[KaiYeves]

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."

That last part always makes me feel all tingly, especially the strong way Borman said it.

[Swift]

CNN.com story about the anniversary

Forty years ago this week, three men in a tiny spacecraft slipped their earthly bonds and traveled where no one else had before, circling the moon 10 times and bringing back an iconic image of a blue-and-white Earth in the distance, solitary but bound as one against the black vastness beyond.

But beyond the monumental aspects of such a scientific achievement, the feat was a major psychological and emotional boost for many Americans at the end of a particularly bad year in U.S. history.

The Tet offensive in January 1968 had left many Americans shocked and doubting that victory in Vietnam was possible. In April, the Rev. Martin Luther King was assassinated, and streets throughout the nation erupted in fire and fury. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down two months later.

That summer, the nation watched in horror as police and anti-war protesters battled in the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.

The launch of Apollo 7 in October was a major victory for NASA, putting the space program back on track after a 22-month interruption because of a launch pad fire that had killed three astronauts in January 1967.

Then came Apollo 8.

For astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth person to walk on the moon, the Apollo 8 mission signified a major milestone in human history, much like when the Phoenicians started exploring the Mediterranean Sea nearly 3,000 years earlier.

"We became citizens of the galaxy, as opposed to citizens of the planet," Mitchell said Monday.

[ravens_cry]

Happy 40th Apollo 8,
From all the people on this good earth.

[Gemini]

[jt-3d]

I don't know if it will link directly but there was a pretty good write up in yestedays paper...on the front page! They called Jim Lovell and Bill Anders. Unfortunately they couldn't get hold of Borman. They had the Earthrise picture on the front and another one of Jim Lovell's daughter and granddaughter who live in Alamo Heights - a city inside SA where rich folks live - a place where I don't hang out, so we're not exactly neighbors, unfortunately.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/military..._to_cheer.html

[KaiYeves]

The front page? That's awesome!

[jt-3d]

Yeah, I saw it and thought 'What's this? Good news on the front page? No blood and slaughter to kick off Christmas Eve? How odd.' I wonder what they ran on the front page back in 1968. Anyway, I applaud the EN for doing something right.

[slang]

For those that, like me, wanted to read more about Apollo 8 because of this anniversary, or whatever other reason, here's the Apollo 8 Flight Journal. A fun, fact-filled read.