Many say that Apollo 8 was successful in 1968. His first intention was to specialize in & # 39; surrounded by a moon on Christmas Eve, and hoped that the millions that were damaged by the huge disaster of events in 1968 would make.
The year ended with the uniquely integrated Apollo 8 with the aggressive attacks of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam at the end of January, and then murdered on Martin Luther King Jr in April and Robert F . Kennedy in June. Casualties attacked cities with fire and violence, and later violent forces attacked the demise of a democratic Convention in Chicago, which continued to elect a dispersed colonial in the November.
The cascade that was growing was a n; meant that everything seemed to fall apart. But then, one clear hope was crowned in 1968: for the first time in history, people traveled around her; moonlight.
NASA hard year
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) named Apollo 8 was the mission of sending people forward to their " Moonlight, but they were planning with real awareness. Less than two years earlier, NASA had three astronauts lost during the burning fire of Apollo 1. It would not be taken to its public, Congress, three other dead stresses.
If their hard work was to solve all of the problems? The new resolution was not far from sure: Apollo 8 would only be the second human exhibition from Apollo 1 fire; people had not been launched to use Saturn V's huge rocket; they needed to reach their Moon; the people who were far away from the Earth's hill were 850 miles, during the Gemini campaigns, compared to the 240,000 miles; needed to reach the reach of its moonlight; During orbit, the spacecraft would be behind; moon from time to time and losing connection to Earth; and if the fire engine failed while it was & # 39; trying to return to Earth, the crew would be caught forever.
Susan Borman, Apollo's 8-year-old wife, Frank Borman, realized that Apollo 8 would be an original mission to help fulfill the dream about being able to do so. landing men on moon. However, she feared that her husband could pay her best price at this time. Susan went to Chris Kraft, a director of flying work at the time of Space Johnson Center, now, and asked Frank to come home this time. Kraft said: Frank Borman's 50/50 chance was to come home safely.
So Frank Borman, who's going this time; no matter whatever the reason was. He thought it was difficult for the human family and their father to be in a rocket. He did not want anything else to stay calmly with the bravery things of his life – his wife, his parents, and his sons.
However, Borman was also a vocational career on the Air Force who wanted to hit the Soviet in the "race race." In September to That year, the Soviets launched Zond 5's resolution, which included a small spacecraft with two turtles, flies, and some other live creatures. Zone 5 came within 1250 miles from the moon's surface and was able to come back into the Indian Ocean with live animals.
This information addressed NASA with the possibility that the Russians had a plan to put people to his / her; moon before NASA did. This attacked Borman to complete the aims of Apollo 8 and, in his own words, "the only thing that inspired me – he met the Russians."
But there was one final take. A moon resolution in December had to fly in the last ten days of the month – over Christmas, in particular – to change to the shape of the moon. So, to finalize the purpose, NASA needed help from the US Navy.
The plane was estimated to have the Apollo 8 team; came into the Pacific Ocean around two days after Christmas, but US sailors had already received orders to stand down for the holidays. In other words, NASA needed to get vessels for its astronauts, but these vessels would be linked to Pearl Harbor. This meant that someone had to believe that the Navy was going to; Thousands of sailors break up.
Kucky was the fortunate man. The NASA plane leader across to Hawaii was met with John McCain, Jr., head of the Pacific headquarters and father of the grandfather after Arizona, who had just gone to the second year as a prisoner of war in in Vietnam. Kraft hoped they would get warriors to their moon successfully and raise back the seabird's joy. It has been severely captured in naval forces management; fighting in the Vietnam War.
Kraft raised his request to a conference room filled by captains and Navy masters, with Admiral McCain who smoked cigar, sitting in the middle of the front row. After a detailed show, Kraft got his point: NASA was a & # 39; Needing ships at sea through the Apollo 8 mission, and without the help of the Navy, the competitors could win the race.
First, there was a rainfall, but then, when Kraft remembers, McCain stood up and threw the well down on board and said, "That's the best gdm. I've never heard of it. "NASA was going to the moon.
Apollo 8 was launched on the 21st December, 1968, not to try to & # 39; move, and its first spider to be & # 39; leave orbit Earth and move to its; moon. Within two minutes of Apollo 8 recreation, the team had been sending their & recorded for the longest everlasting distance suffering from Earth. The plane now came three days to the Moon. Everything was done according to their plan.
While they were & # 39; Given the moon, the Apollo team met their mission goals to take pictures of white trees and venues where they were going on, but the three were even amazing, and # 39 ; s more: the Earth. The behavioral things were back on that blue planet, which was similar to the jewel, and it was almost happier against her; a wall that was a moon; beaten with sand.
Without a & # 39; That moment, with the Earth coming up over the moon's lunar, where the three astronauts were and, Believe for cameras to embrace their home. As Bill Anders said, the team of the team who now has the famous and memorable reminder, "We all came to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we will find the Earth. "
The Best Part of the Mission
Increased recordings, the team had prepared for the most important part of the mission: broadcasting live on television on Christmas Eve and his / her. circulate to moonlight. NASA reports that around 1 billion people in 64 countries have seen live coverage, and people in 30 more countries have watched their lives. broadcast on the same day.
They have the same guidance given by NASA "to do something appropriate." The Apollo team 8 had a difficult time; decide what to do for this historic broadcast, and # 39; removing ideas such as "The Night Before Christmas" or "Jingle Bells." a friendly friend of the three crew recites a newspaper journalist, and asked him help.
Apparently, the reporter sent a night trying to write, and his wife came down the stairs and asked, "What are you doing?" He told her he was writing for the Apollo team 8 and she had nothing. His wife replied, "Well, you know, that's simple – why not read from the Old Testament, the first 10 verses of Genesis? I mean, it is a emotional moment It's a kind of sacred time, but Genesis, the first 10 verses, is the structure of most of the world's religions – especially Christianity, but Buddhism and also Islam. "So that's just what they did.
At Christmas Eve, hundreds of millions worldwide gathered on their television so that the green surface of its moon and moon; coming under Apollo 8, because the strikers out to read familiar words; creation count: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth …"
Back to Earth, such as moon scenes and Genesis's words came down, many in Mission Control felt their sense; feeling very aware. Rod Loe, a flying ruler at the time, recalling her tears in her eyes. Chester Vaughn, an NASA engineer who took ten years of life on to build a spacecraft for this reason, remembers his / her; make games and think it's been the best Christmas ever. Another spectator, a young teenager from Midwest, said he was Feeling he was deep and heavily as he looked at his & her; broadcast, we connect to a genuine fact more than ourselves.
But uncertainty remained, even danger. NASA lost a radio signal with the crew on the far side of the moon, just before the engine had the latest fire. This is a & # 39; The first time in history this would happen, and nobody knew what to expect. It was out of the control hands of Mission, so they could all do to be hopeful and praying.
For a few minutes, there was nothing but a silence at Control Mission. Then, the voice of the room James Lovell (repeatedly directed by the socialist Apollo 13 dona) on radio down: "Houston, Apollo 8, over." After Mission Control responded, Lovell responded again, "Please let us know it's in Santa Claus." The Mission of Control went into a sale.
Just two days later, the warriors went down in the Pacific Ocean, secure by USS Yorktown's carrier carrier. The bright world was marked. With everything that happened in 1968, the most famous apollo 8, a famous telegram from an extraordinary stranger, received Borman after the mission, who just said, "Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968. "
Everyone did not see the glory of the minute. Madalyn Murray O & Hair, an activist that motivated a disagreement, was protesting against NASA, and # 39; claimed that Genesis's reading was in a capsule with the government's power to break his / her; Foundation Clause, the divide of the church and "place." D & # 39; ask for rest to stop astronomy-based belief statements. The courts left the legal campaign quickly, and he lost incredibly the most accomplished achievement of the Apollo 8 mission – the orbit around his / her; moon when Genesis read we brought together to surprise great facts that help us.
Advocates Apollo 8 were selected as Men of the Year for 1968, recognizing the people who have influenced events in that year. The three astronauts were introduced to the International Aerospace Fame Hall. What was even something & # 39; Most famous is the spectacular picture Land built with the struggles. The US Postal Service issued a post stamp that marked Apollo 8 around its & # 39; moonlight. The stamp featured the famous picture of Earthrise over her; Moon built on Christmas Eve, and including the words, "Originally out …"
So, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, Frank Borman's finishing words on a lively and exclusive Christmas Eve were still today: "Good night, good luck, happy Christmas, and God ; bless you all – all of you on the good ground. "
Photo This photo of "Earthrise" over lunar lunches was taken by the 8 Apollo team when they spent their moon on December 24, 1968, and # 39; shows Earth for its first time as it emerges from deep.
William Anders / NASA