Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

Exploring the Unknown
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Bible’s Genesis account of the creation of Earth. Frank Borman closed their
broadcast by saying “goodnight, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless
you all—all of you on the good Earth.” 68 (II-72)
In addition to this dramatic broadcast, the Apollo 8 crew brought home with
them the iconic photograph of the blue Earth rising above the desolate lunar
landscape when they landed on 27 December. In addition to its public impact,
the successful mission demonstrated that NASA was ready to operate at the lunar
distance. The path to a lunar landing had been pioneered; “For many of the
people in the Apollo Program, Apollo 8 was the most magical flight of all.” 69
Goal Met: Americans on the Moon
Two missions stood between Apollo 8 and, if they were successful, the first
attempt at a lunar landing. On 3 March 1969, for the first time a Saturn V launched
the full Apollo spacecraft— the command and service modules and the lunar
module. That combination at just over 292 thousand pounds was the heaviest
payload ever put into orbit. The crew—James McDivitt, David Scott, and Rusty
Schweickart—remained in Earth orbit. Over the course of the 10 day mission,
the lunar module spent 6 hours undocked from the command and service
modules at distances up to 113 miles before rendezvous and redocking, thereby
demonstrating an essential element of the lunar orbital rendezvous approach.
Both the descent and ascent engines of the lunar module were fired in a variety
of modes. Schweickart performed a 39 minute extra-vehicular activity to test the
Apollo portable life support system that would be used for walking on the lunar
surface. The mission was extremely complex, and all of its objectives were met
successfully.
Apollo 10 would be a dress rehearsal for the lunar landing mission, carrying
out all elements of that mission except for the final descent from 47,000 feet
above the lunar surface. It was planned to follow the same time line as a landing
mission attempt, with the same Sun angles and the same out-and-back trajectory.
Some, most notably George Mueller, thought that the mission should actually
attempt the landing; Mueller’s view was that to reduce risks the lunar landing
should be achieved in the fewest possible flights. But this idea was vetoed, both
because the lunar module assigned to the mission was too heavy to actually land
and because the crew and the mission managers in Houston argued successfully
that they needed the experience of this mission under their belts to reduce the
risks associated with the first landing attempt. 70
68. Murray and Cox, Apollo, pp. 325–334, provide a vivid account of the Apollo 8 mission. See
also Robert Zimmerman, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1998).
This essay will not provide detailed accounts of the Apollo missions. For such accounts from the
astronauts’ perspective, see Andrew Chaikin, A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts,
(New York: Viking, 1994).
69. Murray and Cox, Apollo, p. 333.
70. Ibid, pp. 338–339.