Source: Robert Kurson. Rocket Men - The Daring Odyssey of
Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon (2018)
Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon (2018)
Eight minutes after the third stage engine shutdown, Apollo 8 surpassed the altitude record of 853 miles set by Gemini 11. Instead of celebrating, however, the crew of Apollo 8 focused on separating from the now spent third stage. Borman turned a T-shaped handle that triggered explosives that cut loose the third stage, and then Borman did something unexpected, in that he turned the spacecraft 180 degrees and moved nose-first toward the now cast-off third stage. To Borman, doing so would be crucial for future missions going to the Moon, due to the LEM.
In future missions, the LEM would be stored on top of the third stage (Apollo 8 carried a cylindrical water tank to simulate the weight), and to retrieve the LEM, the command/service module would need to turn around nose-first and dock with the LEM, and pull it out from the third stage, hooked nose-to-nose. Future Apollo missions would have to do the maneuver and
successfully dock with the LEM, and that would be how the astronauts would approach the Moon, with two separate spacecraft joined together. Borman wanted to execute a rendezvous as close as possible to the third stage in order to show that the maneuver could be accomplished in space, not just in a simulator. Once pointed to the third stage, Apollo 8 could see the Earth, and Lovell grabbed a camera and took photos, using an entire magazine of film, capturing Cuba and Jamaica at the bottom of his photos. Then Lovell turned his camera to the still-glowing third stage.
In future missions, the LEM would be stored on top of the third stage (Apollo 8 carried a cylindrical water tank to simulate the weight), and to retrieve the LEM, the command/service module would need to turn around nose-first and dock with the LEM, and pull it out from the third stage, hooked nose-to-nose. Future Apollo missions would have to do the maneuver and
successfully dock with the LEM, and that would be how the astronauts would approach the Moon, with two separate spacecraft joined together. Borman wanted to execute a rendezvous as close as possible to the third stage in order to show that the maneuver could be accomplished in space, not just in a simulator. Once pointed to the third stage, Apollo 8 could see the Earth, and Lovell grabbed a camera and took photos, using an entire magazine of film, capturing Cuba and Jamaica at the bottom of his photos. Then Lovell turned his camera to the still-glowing third stage.
Apollo 8 was traveling at more than 20,000 mph, and the Earth was shrinking in the command module windows every second. Lovell was able to see Cape Canaveral (FL) as well as the Strait of Gibraltar. The third stage just behind, moving with Apollo 8, and it was time for the command/service module to move away. Mission Control believed that the third stage would eventually fall into the Sun’s gravity and burn up. But Apollo 8 lost sight of the third stage, and therefore could not be sure of avoiding a collision; the crew had not been trained for that situation. Borman decided to fire the thrusters on the service module to gain 1.5 feet per second velocity, which was about 1 mph faster than the third stage. Very soon after doing so, the third stage came back into view, just a little further away.
The bad news about making that maneuver was that Apollo 8 had altered its trajectory to the Moon, but the good news was that the trajectory could be corrected on the way. However, the third stage tagged along like a dog following its master, between 500 and 1000 feet away, far too close for comfort . . . and soon enough, the third stage moved even closer, still venting fuel. For the next few minutes, Borman and Mission Control debated on what would be the best evasive maneuver. Apollo 8 needed a point of reference in order to fire a thruster, but none was to be found. Mission Control came up with a maneuver that they believed would work, but Borman wasn’t too sure about it, but he executed it anyway, and the maneuver did the trick.
The bad news about making that maneuver was that Apollo 8 had altered its trajectory to the Moon, but the good news was that the trajectory could be corrected on the way. However, the third stage tagged along like a dog following its master, between 500 and 1000 feet away, far too close for comfort . . . and soon enough, the third stage moved even closer, still venting fuel. For the next few minutes, Borman and Mission Control debated on what would be the best evasive maneuver. Apollo 8 needed a point of reference in order to fire a thruster, but none was to be found. Mission Control came up with a maneuver that they believed would work, but Borman wasn’t too sure about it, but he executed it anyway, and the maneuver did the trick.
While all that was going on, Apollo 8 passed through the Van Allen Belts, two massive bands of radiation that surrounded the Earth. NASA thought that the Apollo spacecraft would be going so fast through the radiation belts that the danger posed to the astronauts wouldn’t matter. Additionally, the command module would serve as a shield, but no one knew for sure if the speed and the shield would be effective. The first Van Allen belt was 600 to 3500 miles above Earth, and the second was 9300 to 14,000 miles above.
Anders had helped design a personal radiation detector for Apollo astronauts, and CapCom wanted a radiation reading, and Borman was very curious as well. Anders, who knew the most about all-things-nuclear, perhaps in all of NASA, wasn’t too worried about the radiation levels. It was Anders that radioed back the results to Mission Control: after passing through both belts, the crew was exposed to radiation that was the equivalent to one-tenth of an X-Ray. Not only had the command/service module been traveling at a great rate of speed, which reduced the amount of time in the belts, but the command module had served as a great “Lead Bib”. By then, all of Earth could be seen through Lovell’s center window.
Apollo 8 was five hours after lift-off, and its speed had decreased from 24,000 mph to 9450 mph, as Earth’s gravity still affected the now non-propelled spacecraft. That decrease in speed would continue until Apollo 8 was about five-sixths of the way to the Moon, when lunar gravity became greater. At that point, Apollo 8’s speed would increase, and midcourse adjustments would be necessary, perhaps as many as four, since the current trajectory had Apollo 8 crashing into the Moon.
Anders had helped design a personal radiation detector for Apollo astronauts, and CapCom wanted a radiation reading, and Borman was very curious as well. Anders, who knew the most about all-things-nuclear, perhaps in all of NASA, wasn’t too worried about the radiation levels. It was Anders that radioed back the results to Mission Control: after passing through both belts, the crew was exposed to radiation that was the equivalent to one-tenth of an X-Ray. Not only had the command/service module been traveling at a great rate of speed, which reduced the amount of time in the belts, but the command module had served as a great “Lead Bib”. By then, all of Earth could be seen through Lovell’s center window.
Apollo 8 was five hours after lift-off, and its speed had decreased from 24,000 mph to 9450 mph, as Earth’s gravity still affected the now non-propelled spacecraft. That decrease in speed would continue until Apollo 8 was about five-sixths of the way to the Moon, when lunar gravity became greater. At that point, Apollo 8’s speed would increase, and midcourse adjustments would be necessary, perhaps as many as four, since the current trajectory had Apollo 8 crashing into the Moon.
Six-and-a-half hours into the mission, Mission Control in Houston had its first shift change when the Maroon Team took over for the Green Team, with the new CapCom being Ken Mattingly. The Green Team would go eight hours until they were relieved by the Black Team, and eight hours later, the Green Team would be back on duty, etc.
Next up for Apollo 8 was a necessary maneuver where the spacecraft slowly spun around on its axis so no part of the command/service module was exposed to direct sunlight for very long. Apollo 8 was the first to use that maneuver in space, which was like a chicken rotating on a rotisserie. It was now a little over eight hours into the mission, and finally the crew was able to get out of their spacesuits, which had been necessary up to that point since they needed to breathe pure oxygen, and the spacesuits protected them from the change in the internal air pressure during launch. Wearing the spacesuits during that time was to, in essence, to prevent the astronauts from experiencing “the bends”, of which deep sea divers must contend.
Now Anders could truly experience weightlessness, and he quickly learned how to move efficiently and effortlessly. After doing some zero gravity somersaults, Anders started to feel nauseous, and he strapped himself back into his seat in order to get back to equilibrium. Apollo 8 sailed towards the Moon, with its back blunt end towards the Moon, and due to “rotisserie mode”, the crew had different views through the windows, seeing the Earth as the size of a softball.
Next up for Apollo 8 was a necessary maneuver where the spacecraft slowly spun around on its axis so no part of the command/service module was exposed to direct sunlight for very long. Apollo 8 was the first to use that maneuver in space, which was like a chicken rotating on a rotisserie. It was now a little over eight hours into the mission, and finally the crew was able to get out of their spacesuits, which had been necessary up to that point since they needed to breathe pure oxygen, and the spacesuits protected them from the change in the internal air pressure during launch. Wearing the spacesuits during that time was to, in essence, to prevent the astronauts from experiencing “the bends”, of which deep sea divers must contend.
Now Anders could truly experience weightlessness, and he quickly learned how to move efficiently and effortlessly. After doing some zero gravity somersaults, Anders started to feel nauseous, and he strapped himself back into his seat in order to get back to equilibrium. Apollo 8 sailed towards the Moon, with its back blunt end towards the Moon, and due to “rotisserie mode”, the crew had different views through the windows, seeing the Earth as the size of a softball.
Urinating in the command module was straightforward enough, in that when the astronaut was out of his spacesuit, he used a previously fitted “condom”, and then “bellied up to the bar”, attaching the condom to a bypass valve. If timed properly, the urine could be expelled into space during urination, but if it wasn’t timed well, the astronaut’s manhood would experience vacuum forces. If the valve was opened too slowly when urinating, then the condom was forced off at the astronaut’s end, which would lead to droplets of unpleasantness in the cabin. Also, when urine was expelled, there was the chance that the spacecraft’s trajectory may be altered.
Defecation was far less glamorous, in that the astronaut started with a collection bag fitted with an adhesive collar. After stripping naked at the far end of the command module for as much privacy as possible, the astronaut pressed the collar around his hind end until it stuck, then did his best to drop off his friends into the plastic playground. In zero gravity, a narrow pouch was built into the bag for the astronaut’s finger, so he could “encourage downward movement” in the bag. A packet of blue germicide was already in the bag, and its purpose was to neutralize odors and to kill bacteria that would, over time, cause the bag to explode. Defecation could take as long as an hour, and afterwards the astronauts cleaned themselves using small moist towelettes, very similar to the ones used in restaurants. The crew could not eject the poo-bags into space, since doing so with such a bulky item required depressurization, which could not be allowed to occur. NASA also wanted to examine the feces of the astronauts upon return.
Defecation was far less glamorous, in that the astronaut started with a collection bag fitted with an adhesive collar. After stripping naked at the far end of the command module for as much privacy as possible, the astronaut pressed the collar around his hind end until it stuck, then did his best to drop off his friends into the plastic playground. In zero gravity, a narrow pouch was built into the bag for the astronaut’s finger, so he could “encourage downward movement” in the bag. A packet of blue germicide was already in the bag, and its purpose was to neutralize odors and to kill bacteria that would, over time, cause the bag to explode. Defecation could take as long as an hour, and afterwards the astronauts cleaned themselves using small moist towelettes, very similar to the ones used in restaurants. The crew could not eject the poo-bags into space, since doing so with such a bulky item required depressurization, which could not be allowed to occur. NASA also wanted to examine the feces of the astronauts upon return.
A little over nine hours had elapsed since lift-off, and Apollo 8 was getting their first glimpses of the Moon, still sixty hours away, with Lovell seeing it first through the command module’s optics, doing more of his navigation calculations. Apollo 8 was 52,000 miles from Earth and weighed just 63,295 pounds, less than 1% of its launch weight, due to all the spent fuel and discarded Saturn rocket stages. And soon enough the spacecraft would weigh less than that as the crew readied to do something that many in NASA didn’t think Apollo 8 should do.
Kraft wanted a test-burn of just a few seconds from the service module engine in order to make sure it worked. The optimal time for that test-burn was when Apollo 8 was about 60,000 miles from Earth, which was a good distance in that if there were problems, they could be addressed. Kraft was told that the test-burn would mess up Apollo 8’s trajectory, but Kraft remained undeterred, and so the test-burn was set to be a go. An hour before the test-burn, some at Mission Control intensified their opposition, but Kraft was the overall boss at Mission Control, and the test-burn would happen.
Apollo 8 prepared for that test-burn, and when the time came, the service module engine lit up, and the crew experienced a gentle push forward, with the spacecraft gaining speed. After 2.4 seconds, the test-burn was cut off, and a few minutes later the NASA public affairs officer announced that “The burn was completely nominal in all respects” . . . for a minute or two, Kraft believed it . . .
Kraft wanted a test-burn of just a few seconds from the service module engine in order to make sure it worked. The optimal time for that test-burn was when Apollo 8 was about 60,000 miles from Earth, which was a good distance in that if there were problems, they could be addressed. Kraft was told that the test-burn would mess up Apollo 8’s trajectory, but Kraft remained undeterred, and so the test-burn was set to be a go. An hour before the test-burn, some at Mission Control intensified their opposition, but Kraft was the overall boss at Mission Control, and the test-burn would happen.
Apollo 8 prepared for that test-burn, and when the time came, the service module engine lit up, and the crew experienced a gentle push forward, with the spacecraft gaining speed. After 2.4 seconds, the test-burn was cut off, and a few minutes later the NASA public affairs officer announced that “The burn was completely nominal in all respects” . . . for a minute or two, Kraft believed it . . .