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Apollo 8

NSSDC ID: 68-118A

Description:
This spacecraft was the first of the Apollo series to successfully
orbit the moon. The mission achieved operational experience
and tested the Apollo command module systems. The crew
photographed the lunar surface, both farside and nearside,
obtaining information on topography and landmarks as well
as other scientific information necessary for future Apollo
landings. The spacecraft was launched on December 21,1968,
and was placed in an elliptical lunar orbit at 69 h 8 min ground
elapsed time for two orbits. It was later placed in a near-circular
lunar orbit of 110.4 by 112.3 km for eight orbits. The mission
was considered nominal and was completed on December
27, 1968, at 147 h after launch. 

Crew:
Frank Borman, commander
James A. Lovell, command module pilot
William A. Anders, lunar module pilot

Launch Information:
Launch Date/Time: 1968-12-21 at 12:51:00 UTC
Launch Site/Country: Cape Canaveral, United States
Launch Vehicle: Saturn 5    
Orbital Information:
Lunar Orbit: 24 December 1968 
Returned to Earth: 27 December 1968 UT 15:51:42 
                                  (10:51:42 AM EST)
Orbit: Orbiter 
Central Body: Earth
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