Apollo 8 - Wikipedia
Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968, and was the second crewed spaceflight mission flown in the United States Apollo space program (the first, Apollo 7, stayed in Earth orbit). Apollo 8 was the third flight and the first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket.
Apollo 8 - NASA
Jul 11, 2024 · On December 21, 1968, three NASA astronauts embarked on a journey that would take them “Round the moon and back.” The Apollo 8 mission proved the performance of the command and service module and was the first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket.
Apollo 8: Everything you need to know | Space
Sep 18, 2018 · In 1968, NASA's Apollo 8 mission carried the first crew beyond low Earth orbit and toward the moon, an important turning point in humanity's exploration of space.
Apollo 8: Mission Details - NASA
Jul 8, 2009 · NASA. Mission Highlights. Apollo 8 launched from Cape Kennedy on Dec. 21, 1968, placing astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr. and William Anders into a 114 by 118 mile parking orbit at 32.6 degrees.
Apollo 8 - National Air and Space Museum
Apollo 8, which launched on December 21, 1968, was the first mission to take humans to the Moon and back. While the crew did not land on the Moon's surface, the flight was an important prelude to a lunar landing, testing the flight trajectory and operations getting there and back.
Apollo 8: Christmas at the Moon - NASA
Dec 23, 2019 · Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts held a live broadcast from lunar orbit, during which they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft.
How Apollo 8 ‘Saved 1968’ - Smithsonian Magazine
Dec 11, 2018 · The Apollo 8 astronauts watched the desolate, crater-pocked surface of the moon pass beneath them. Then, something unexpectedly stunning happened. Rising above the horizon was a beautiful sphere,...
Apollo 8: First Humans to Leave Earth Orbit - NASA Science
The Dec. 21, 1968 launch of Apollo 8 (AS-503) from Cape Kennedy, Fla. was the beginning of a mission designed to test the Apollo system and gain the operational experience necessary to realize President Kennedy’s goal of “landing a man on …
Apollo 8 - The Planetary Society
Dec 20, 2018 · Apollo 8. The first human visit to lunar orbit. With Apollo 8, humans broke free of Earth orbit for the first time. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders became the first humans in space to lose sight of their home world and gaze upon the lunar farside.
APOLLO 8 - NASA
Apollo 8 was a Type “C prime” mission, a CSM piloted flight demonstration in lunar orbit instead of Earth orbit like Apollo 7. It was the first mission to take humans to the vicinity of the Moon, a bold step forward in the development of a lunar landing capability.