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As Apollo 8 drifted above the far side of the moon Borman, Lovell, and Anders observed a scene of total desolation. It appeared absent of color, except for various shades of gray. There was no atmosphere to soften the view, it was a scene of extreme clarity.
Far side of the Moon as seen from Apollo 8
Far side of the Moon from Apollo 8
Earthrise from Apollo 8
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Just a few minutes after Apollo 8’s second TV broadcast, Borman, Lovell, and Anders passed Earth’s gravitational hill top and crossed into the Moon’s gravitational sphere of influence.
Apollo 8 leaving the spent third stage
Apollo 8 Translunar Coast leaving Earth
Apollo 8 mission patch
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The Space Age had barely begun when Soviet engineers started planning ways to destroy enemy satellites. Some Western analysts have speculated that a design for an anti-satellite weapon system was started at Korolev’s OKB-1 bureau as early as 1956…
Polyot-1
Credit: © Dietrich Haeseler
Credit: © Dietrich Haeseler
By Dave
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At T plus 40 seconds Apollo 8 went supersonic and the ride smoothed out. Now it was quite again, but Borman kept a watchful eye on the trajectory readouts. If there was a Saturn malfunction he could whisk the capsule away just by twisting the abort handle. This would trigger the escape rocket.
Apollo 8 Lunar Plan
Apollo 8 Staging
View from Apollo 8 in Earth orbit
