As Apollo 8 moves around behind the Moon, Jim prepares for a series of tracking exercises. By the Flight Plan, this will require him sighting on a landmark on the far side known as Control Point 2 which is situated in the vicinity of crater Keeler. His subsequent comm after AOS shows that he also sights on Control Point 1, a keyhole-shaped pair of craters within Korolev. Using an adapter, he will attach the 16-mm movie camera to the sextant so that it can simultaneously film the sightings.
Part of the mission objectives for Apollo 8 is to demonstrate the ability of the spacecraft's optics and computer to determine the position of a landmark. Up to this time, much of the Moon's far side had been photographed by the Lunar Orbiter probes though the photography provided could not allow accurate determination of positions of surface features. Jim will use the computer to approximately aim the optics at the landmark. He will then aim them accurately and take marks. Using its knowledge of their orbit, the computer will calculate where it thinks the landmark really is with three parameters; latitude, longitude and altitude. Note that their computer is not programmed to deal directly with longitude. Instead it was programmed to work with longitude divided by two so that the limited range of its registers can deal with longitude to the required precision.
[Download MP3 audio file of onboard audio. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.]
077:15:20 Lovell (onboard): I tried it. [Garble] a problem. Would you believe the [garble].
077:16:47 Lovell (onboard): Yes.
077:16:57 Lovell (onboard): Okay.
077:17:07 Lovell (onboard): That's everything.
077:17:09 Anders (onboard): Pardon?
077:17:14 Lovell (onboard): Roll - roll right.
077:17:31 Lovell (onboard): [Garble] okay.
077:17:50 Lovell (onboard): [Garble] go back to your residuals. Proceed. [Garble] 2000 [garble.] Okay, we should be 00 now.
077:18:31 Lovell (onboard): 00; proceed. Latitude - Okay, this is what you copied down. Let's see, latitude and longitude, [garble] and altitude [garble] best points at 239. Write down 239. That's your latitude and longitude and [garble] altitude.
077:19:07 Lovell (onboard): Okay.
077:19:13 Lovell (onboard): Latitude, minus 06269; longitude over two, minus 78954; altitude, plus 00152.
Jim's figures represent the computer's idea of where CP-1 is. This is a small crater next to a keyhole-shaped feature in Korolev.
AS08-12-2052, showing the Keyhole feature and Control Point-1 within Korolev.
The Keyhole is quite distinctive as shown by this image from Bill's stereo sequence. There are spaces on page 2-59 of the Flight Plan for Jim to write down the position of CP-1. By looking up these coordinates in the Clementine Lunar Atlas, it appears Jim's mark is very close, much more so than the coordinates given in the Flight Plan which appears to be 140 km to the west. Subsequent comm will show that Jim has decided to choose his own marks for the tracking exercise rather than use those given in the Flight Plan.
077:20:20 Lovell (onboard): [Garble] okay, that would be the - okay.
077:20:37 Lovell (onboard): [Garble] the way you resolved and [garble].
077:21:10 Lovell (onboard): We're a little bit - We're on the fourth rev? This is the fourth rev, right? You're just a little bit south of [garble] yes, this [garble] stuff is really great for this. See, he's trying to get the right attitude, here.
077:22:42 Lovell (onboard): You're 5 degrees up, huh? That's a good attitude.
077:27:11 Lovell (onboard): Okay, I just [garble].
077:27:41 Lovell (onboard): I wish I hadn't added the time to that.
077:27:54 Borman (onboard): You looking it up again?
077:27:57 Lovell (onboard): Yes, I am [garble].
077:28:11 Lovell (onboard): Yes, there's a big probability too there's a [garble].
077:30:02 Lovell (onboard): 1. 2. 3. [Garble] 4. 5. Proceed. Two balls? Two balls.
077:31:26 Lovell (onboard): [Garble].
077:31:28 Anders (onboard): I demanded it on that one.
077:31:34 Lovell (onboard): [Garble].
077:31:36 Anders (onboard): You haven't got - Do you have the one before Mike, by any chance?
077:31:40 Lovell (onboard): I don't know; I better check. This is what you call 222, friends.
077:31:51 Lovell (onboard): Yes, this has got to be right [garble] I figured that once and I know I can find it.
077:32:18 Lovell (onboard): Okay. Latitude is minus 09638.
077:32:24 Anders (onboard): Minus 09638.
077:32:30 Lovell (onboard): Okay, and longitude over two is plus 81691.
077:32:40 Anders (onboard): [Garble]?
077:32:42 Lovell (onboard): Plus 81691.
077:32:51 Lovell (onboard): Altitude is minus four balls 7.
These are the computer's figures for Jim's mark on Control Point-2.
Apollo 8 frame AS08-17-2704, showing the position of Control Point-2.
Control Point-2 is a small crater in the north rim of the 37-km crater Planté, itself within the larger crater Keeler. Planté was names after physicist Gustav Planté (1834-1889).
[Download MP3 audio file of PAO announcer recording. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.]
This is Apollo Control, Houston; 77 hours, 32 minutes into the flight. All quiet for approximately the last 20 minutes. We are due to acquire again in about 13 minutes. One of the more interesting system phenomena, I guess we could call it, to come out of these early revolutions around the Moon is the temperature variance we're seeing within the Environmental Control System. The system is proving quite capable to the task, but it's seeing much wider excursions than it sees in Earth orbital flight. And I'm talking about temperatures on the variances - excursions, I guess is the proper word, of 40 to 50 degrees within the system; that's not in the cabin, of 40 to 50 degrees, whereas the same - at the same point in Earth orbital flight between the light and dark side, might see an excursion on the order of 10 to 15 degrees. Again, the Environmental Control System is handling the cabin very nicely. It's been purposely set up somewhat warmer than yesterday and some previous days the crew prefers the cabin up in the higher 70's and that's where it has been on consistently today, 77 to 79. But again and again, we hear action on the water boiler as we come around from the dark side into the Sun side. This phenomena I'm sure, will be examined at more length at the change of shift briefing, and as the flight progresses. No new conversation to report, all's well at 77 hours, 34 minutes into the flight.
077:33:04 Lovell (onboard): Okay.
077:34:17 Lovell (onboard): Okay, could you read off the latitude and longitude [garble].
077:34:23 Anders (onboard): [Garble].
077:34:29 Lovell (onboard): 06?
077:36:56 Anders (onboard): [Garble.] Okay, f - f:11. 250th.
077:37:40 Lovell (onboard): Okay, 37:48. You can go right [garble] this will give us the - [garble] 37:48 [garble].
077:38:34 Anders (onboard): Well, if it's not [garble]; It'll drop to zero, if it doesn't [garble] because [garble] yes.
077:40:47 Anders (onboard): Okay.
077:41:02 Borman (onboard): The [garble] says we have to go about 50 before this should start falling.
077:41:17 Anders (onboard): We can do nothing at the [garble] before high bit rate.
077:41:27 Anders (onboard): Yes, I'm going - Are you positive about that?
077:41:29 Borman (onboard): Yes.
077:41:33 Anders (onboard): Give me a 30-second warning when you want to say something. I'll have to stop it, [garble] that leaves 30 seconds [garble].
077:42:47 Borman (onboard): Yes.
077:43:23 Borman (onboard): If it would have been Lock, we've got - got two of them.
077:43:46 Lovell (onboard): Bill, [garble]. Do you know I can see the horizon? Can you see the horizon?
077:43:59 Anders (onboard): Pitch up?
077:44:00 Lovell (onboard): Yes, pitch up to...
077:44:20 Borman (onboard): Pitch is about 50.
077:44:23 Lovell (onboard): Can you pitch up some more?
077:45:20 Lovell (onboard): No, that's about right. Let's take pictures of [garble]. You see the [garble] right there.
077:46:37 Borman (onboard): Houston, Apollo 8. How do you read?
077:46:40 Lovell (onboard): You have the [garble]?
077:46:43 Anders (onboard): Yes, I've got it over here.
077:46:45 Lovell (onboard): You've got it?
077:46:46 Anders (onboard): Here you go; I'll pass [garble].
077:46:48 Collins: Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over. [Long pause.]
077:47:05 Anders: Houston, Apollo 8. Go ahead.
077:47:07 Collins: Roger. Reading you loud and clear. Welcome back.
077:47:13 Anders: Roger. Looks like the evaporat - looks like the evaporator is holding okay, or at least it's trying to. It dropped the temperature down to about 32 and now it's come back up again and stabilized at about 42 degrees.
077:47:31 Collins: Roger. Copy you, Bill.
Comm break.
077:48:14 Anders (onboard): Do you need any more film there, Jim?
077:48:30 Borman (onboard): Okay, if I'm [garble].
077:48:32 Lovell (onboard): Huh? Okay.
077:48:41 Lovell: Houston, Apollo 8.
077:48:44 Collins: Apollo 8, Houston.
077:48:50 Lovell: Roger. Houston, this is Apollo 8. What we're doing on the control point tracking, I managed to look for a CP-1 at the same time we were trying to do a CP-2 on this rev. I've picked two marks which are just as small, but more easily recognizable, than the ones that were given to me. I know that I can repeat the process in picking the same small point on the next rev. Now I can try to look for the control points that are written down, but I think that I have better control over the ones that we have.
Jim's comm implies that he has chosen points like Keyhole to suit himself rather than using ones which are chosen for him. As long as he can reference them after the flight. this should not be a problem.
[Download MP3 audio file of PAO announcer recording. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.]
This is Apollo Control, Houston; 77 hours, 49 minutes into the flight and just three minutes ago we acquired Apollo 8 as it came around the corner on this fifth revolution around the Moon. Here's the conversation as it progresses.
077:49:29 Collins: Roger, Jim. Understand. We'll check that for you.
077:49:34 Lovell: Roger. One more point: the control point times which you've given me are a little bit off, and I can notice, by comparing the maps, that these maps are not too well aligned either.
077:49:47 Collins: Roger, these two small points that you can repeat your marks on: will you be able to identify those precisely on a map? Over.
077:50:00 Lovell: That's affirmative; that's why I picked them. They're both - they're very prominent features, and they are both very small craters about the same size as the ones we are looking for, but I can pinpoint them on a map.
077:50:13 Collins: Roger. [Long pause.]
077:50:41 Lovell (onboard): Yes, you need about a 10-degree pitch up from that attitude.
077:50:48 Lovell: Houston, Apollo 8.
077:50:49 Collins: Apollo 8, Houston. Over.
077:50:54 Lovell: Roger. One more comment: is that, an awful lot of controversy at data priority meetings, it looks like 10 degrees pitch-up is the best attitude to obtain the horizon so that you can follow the landmark down through the scanning telescope. If you pitch down any more, a full-up trunnion will not gather, or get the horizon, and the horizon's a great help in leading yourself into the control point.
077:51:28 Collins: Roger. Understand.
Comm break.
077:52:03 Borman (onboard): How does that look, Jim? We should be about over PC-3
077:52:08 Lovell (onboard): Well, I just sort of find PC-3 because [garble] get it [garble].
077:52:30 Lovell (onboard): Let's see, do you have that [garble] thing? Is that it?
077:52:40 Collins: Apollo 8, Houston.
077:52:45 Lovell: Go ahead.
077:52:47 Collins: Jim, we concur with your use of the two small craters which you can repeatably mark on and find on the map; and also, if you'll give us your new latitudes and longitudes, we can compute for you a time of closest approach to those points with the spacecraft 10 degrees pitched up. Over.
077:53:12 Lovell: Roger, Houston. CP-1, latitude, minus 6 - 06269; longitude over 2, minus 78954; altitude, plus 00152; for CP-2, latitude, minus 09638; longitude over 2, plus 81691; altitude, minus 00007. I tried to get CP-3 at the same pass, but I let it go by to get set up for this first crack at the landing site.
077:54:05 Collins: Roger. On CP-1, would you say again the latitude, and on CP-2, say again the longitude over 2, please.
077:54:15 Lovell: Roger. CP-1, latitude, minus 06269 - that's the latitude; and for longitude over 2 for CP-2, plus 81691.
077:54:34 Collins: Okay. We copied them. Thank you. [Pause.]
077:54:43 Lovell: And it appears that Resolve, Medium is a very good combination to track.
077:54:59 Lovell: And it appears so far, Houston, that no spacecraft pitch motion is required to get 5 marks on the target in plenty of time.
077:55:10 Collins: Roger. Understand you require no spacecraft motion to get 5 marks.
Long comm break.
077:55:21 Borman (onboard): Okay, let's get ready for - Here's a couple of [garble].
077:55:56 Lovell (onboard): How's the water boiler doing, Frank?
077:56:40 Lovell (onboard): Okay, that would be 78 percent.
077:57:03 Lovell (onboard): Frank, could you just get me [garble]?
[Download MP3 audio file of PAO announcer recording. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.]
And that brings us up to this point. We've had no additional comments now, for perhaps a minute or so. That's excellent data though. The kind of - precisely the kind of data that we had hoped to get. The navigational side of lunar orbit which will be flown by both the command - future command module and LM flights around the Moon. Lovell will continue to his navigational work; and dear old Bill Anders, sitting off in one corner there, squeezing off pictures at a rate that most professional photographers wouldn't believe. Frank Borman is entering a rest period here, which is to extend for three hours. It's doubtful that he'll really go to sleep, but he has been excellent about following the Flight Plan to date - he probably needs rest. At 77 hours, 57 minutes into the flight; this is Apollo Control, Houston.
077:57:15 Lovell (onboard): Hey, Frank, why don't you go ahead and get some sleep?
077:58:41 Lovell (onboard): Yes, Frank.
077:58:49 Lovell (onboard): Yes, roll some up there.
077:58:57 Lovell (onboard): Okay, just hold it there, 10 degrees down and ... Are you sure you're aligned good? Did you use the landing site? Okay.
077:59:17 Anders (onboard): I got about a 10-degree yaw, here, Jim,
077:59:51 Anders (onboard): Okay, Jim, what's the other [garble]?
077:59:54 Anders (onboard): You going to be turning it off?
078:00:10 Anders (onboard): [Garble] which one was this? Control point sighting? CP number 526?
078:00:16 Lovell (onboard): No, this will be landing mark zero, Auto Optics.
078:00:25 Anders (onboard): What - what's that? [garble] pseudo landing site?
078:00:40 Lovell (onboard): I got [garble]. Is that about 10 degrees?
078:00:47 Lovell (onboard): Oh, [Garble] I think that's perfect. The horizon just comes up to the top [garble] zero optics.
078:01:25 Lovell (onboard): [Singing.]
078:02:59 Lovell (onboard): Pitch up there about 7 degrees.
078:04:07 Lovell (onboard): Okay, we'll stop and compute the [garble] right now.
078:04:23 Collins: Rog. I am about 15 minutes early with the TEI-6 update and the map update. I'll have them here whenever it's convenient for you to copy.
078:04:36 Anders: Okay. Just a little bit, Mike.
Long comm break.
078:04:43 Anders (onboard): You have some updates here [garble].
078:04:50 Lovell (onboard): Okay, now we might get a program alarm.
078:04:52 Anders (onboard): Okay, I've got the [garble].
078:05:35 Lovell (onboard): Okay, what I'm going to do now, is [garble].
078:06:41 Lovell (onboard): Okay, I [garble] a little bit - yaw to the right. You're indicating 50 degrees in pitch and yaw [garble]. Oh, this [garble] is a piece of cake. It's a real piece of cake.
078:07:21 Lovell (onboard): [Garble] about 3 minutes fast in [garble].
078:07:59 Lovell (onboard): [Garble] yaw [garble] roll left instead of right [garble].
078:08:05 Anders (onboard): Okay, how's your TEMP?
078:08:40 Lovell (onboard): For your information, Houston, instead of [garble] the landing site again, I'm going to give it to Auto Optics, now. [Garble] one [garble] it's very easy to distinguish [garble] and I can even pick out the - If I can see [garble] landing site even though it's still about 60 degrees trunnion.
078:09:05 Lovell (onboard): Okay, let's...
078:09:07 Anders (onboard): Roll right?
078:09:23 Anders (onboard): Here we are.
078:09:25 Lovell (onboard): Okay.
078:09:34 Anders (onboard): How far below 10 degrees are you reading, anyway?
078:09:38 Lovell (onboard): I don't know, Just don't worry about it.
078:09:40 Anders (onboard): Oh, okay.
078:09:46 Anders (onboard): What kind of a pitch are we reading?
078:11:24 Lovell (onboard): Okay.
078:11:26 Anders (onboard): Which way do you want to roll? Roll left?
078:12:47 Anders (onboard): Okay.
078:13:00 Anders (onboard): Yaw up, roll right 180 [garble] 2 degrees [garble] 2 degrees [garble].
078:13:37 Collins: Roger. We'd like to ask you to stop using auto optics on the pseudo-landing site. It's necessary that we send you up a P27 to update the RLS values stored in the computer. Over.
078:13:54 Lovell: Roger. I found out it didn't work [garble] I went to manual optics on B-1.
078:14:01 Collins: Rog. Understand.
Comm break.
078:14:45 Borman (onboard): Houston, Apollo 8. Stand by one.
078:16:51 Collins: Roger. If you'd go to P00 and Accept, please, we're going to send you a P27 load which will update an RLS value which will be followed by a procedural change, Jim, we'll give you later; and auto optics should be working shortly.
078:17:12 Lovell: Roger. Or I could use no-landmark Auto Optics instead of the code. [Long pause.]
078:17:31 Collins: Apollo 8, Houston. We're also sending you up a state vector update at the same time.
078:17:39 Lovell: Okay. We'll be expecting that. [Long pause.]
078:18:14 Collins: Apollo 8, Houston. We taking the DSE for a dump. Over. [Long pause.]
078:18:31 Collins: Apollo 8, Houston. Over.
078:18:36 Lovell: Go ahead, Houston.
078:18:38 Collins: Roger. We would like to take Bill's DSE for a dump. Over.
078:18:44 Lovell: Roger. Go ahead.
078:18:46 Collins: Thank you.
Long comm break.
[Download MP3 audio file of PAO announcer recording. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.]
Apollo Control, Houston here; 78 hours, 19 minutes into the flight. We've had a few sporadic conversations with two very hard working pilots, actually I guess all the conversation has been with one, Jim Lovell, in the last few minutes. Here's a collection of those conversations.
And that brings up to snuff with all the tape of this pass. I think we're going to go back to live action, let's cut up there.
Our orbit this rev, sixty - shows a 62-[nautical] mile apogee [means apolune] and a 60.1-[nautical] mile perigee [means perilune], perigee occurring at 10 degrees south by 101 degrees east and apogee occurring at 10 degrees north by 78 west. Here goes a call.
078:24:33 Anders: Houston, Apollo 8. We're ready for the - your updates, your PADs.
078:24:38 Collins: Apollo 8, Houston. Roger. I have updates, a map update for rev 5/6, and TEI-6 update. Which would you like first?
078:24:51 Anders: Okay. I've got the map update page now. Why don't you give me that one?
078:24:55 Collins: Okay. Map update for rev 5/6. LOS, 78:58:49; sunrise, 79:08:07; prime meridian, 79:14:30; AOS, 79:44:36; sunset, 80:21:05; IP-1, time of closest approach to target B-1, 80:09:08. Now your two new control points that Jim gave us: control point number 1, acquisition, 79:10:32; control point number 2, acquisition, 79:23:14. Over.
078:26:16 Anders: Roger. Copy. Ready for the TEI. [Pause.]
078:26:26 Collins: Okay, Bill. Before we read the big TEI update here, I'd like to give Jim, briefly, a procedure for P22. When he comes to Noun 89, we request that he do a Verb 34, Enter. Do not Proceed, and by so doing then, he will not incorporate the lat. and longitude from his mark, and he will not change the reference value of the landing site, and we will solve this auto optics problem. Over.
078:27:08 Lovell: Let me see if I have this correct, Mike. When flashing [Verb] 06 [Noun] 89 comes up with the latitude and longitude information, I will not Proceed but will go to Verb 34 and terminate. Is that correct?
078:27:24 Collins: Yes, that is affirmative. Do a Verb 34, Enter, instead of a Proceed. And that will...
078:27:34 Lovell: All right. Is this technique true? [Pause.]
078:27:45 Lovell: Houston, is this technique true for both the node control point auto optics on G-25?
078:27:52 Collins: Stand by one, Jim.
078:27:54 Lovell: And the len... [Long pause.]
078:28:09 Collins: That's affirmative, Apollo 8. That is always true.
078:28:16 Lovell: Okay. Roger. True for the code auto optics and the no landmark. I'll Proceed instead of going on - or I'll use 34 instead Proceeding on 89.
078:28:25 Collins: Roger. Thank you, Jim, and I have the TEI-6 hour, when you're ready - or TEI number 6. [Long pause.]
078:28:45 Borman: Go ahead. [Pause.]
078:28:52 Anders: Ready to copy.
078:28:54 Collins: Rog. I'm glad you're ready to copy TEI number 6. I've got one last comment for Jim before you do so. The Verb 89 - or correction - the Noun 89 we're talking about is the one that he gets after marking. There are two Noun 89s, one prior to marking and one after, and our procedure references the Noun 89 after marking. Over.
078:29:21 Lovell: Roger. Understand.
078:29:24 Collins: Thank you, and, Bill, you still ready to copy?
078:29:29 Anders: Ready to copy, Mike.
078:29:31 Collins: TEI-6, SPS/G&N; 45701; minus 0.40, plus 1.57. Are you with me so far?
078:29:56 Anders: Roger.
078:29:57 Collins: 081:21:24.43; plus 3177.6, minus 0082.3, minus 0136.5; 180, 016, 001; not applicable, plus 0018.8. Are you still with me? Over.
078:31:56 Anders: That's Roger.
078:31:57 Collins: Good. 3181.6, 3:02, 3162.4; 40, 269.9, 39.6; 033, down 05.4, left 2.1; plus 08.10, minus 165.00, 1296.8, 36222, 146:42:04; GDC Align remains the same, Sirus and Rigel; roll 129, pitch 155, yaw 010; ullage, 4 quads for 15 seconds. Horizon on 6-degree line at TIG minus 3 minutes. Over.
The PAD is interpreted as follows:
Purpose: The PAD is for an emergency burn to return to Earth at the end of Rev 6.
Systems: The burn would be made using the SPS engine, under the control of the Guidance and Navigation system.
CSM Weight (Noun 47): 45,701 pounds (20,730 kg).
Pitch and yaw trim (Noun 48): -0.40° and +1.57°.
Time of ignition (Noun 33): 81 hours, 21 minutes, 24.43 seconds.
Change in velocity (Noun 81), fps (m/s): X, +3,177.6 (+968.5); Y, -82.3 (-25.1); Z, -136.5 (-41.6). The large positive number in the X direction implies a large prograde component, essentially adding to their orbital velocity, exactly what would be expected from an escape manoeuvre.
Spacecraft attitude: Roll, 180°; Pitch, 16°; Yaw, 1°. The desired spacecraft attitude is measured relative to the alignment of the guidance platform which itself has been aligned per the LOI-2 REFSMMAT.
Expected apogee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): Not applicable. Being initiated around the Moon, the apogee of the resulting orbit around Earth is too large to register on the computer.
Expected perigee of resulting orbit (Noun 44): 18.8 nautical miles (34.8 km).
Delta-VT: 3,181.6 fps (969.8 m/s). The total sum of the three velocity components.
Burn duration or burn time: 3 minutes, 02 seconds.
Delta-VC: 3,162.4 fps. This figure will be entered into the EMS to allow it to shut down the engine as a backup in case the G&N system fails to do so.
Sextant star: Star 40 (Altair, or Alpha Aquilae) visible in sextant when shaft and trunnion angles are 269.9° and 39.6° respectively.
Boresight star: Star 33 (Antares, or Alpha Scorpii).
COAS Pitch Angle: Down 5.4°.
COAS X Position Angle: Left 2.1°.
Expected splashdown point (Noun 61): 8.10° north, 165° west; which is in the mid-Pacific.
Range to go at the 0.05 g event: 1,296.8 nautical miles. To set up their EMS (Entry Monitor System) before re-entry, the crew need to know the expected distance the CM would travel from the 0.05 g event to landing. This figure will be decremented by the EMS based on signals from its own accelerometer.
Expected velocity at the 0.05 g event: 36,222 fps. This is another entry for the EMS. It is entered into the unit's Delta-V counter and will be decremented based on signals from its own accelerometer.
Predicted GET of 0.05 g event: 146 hours, 42 minutes and 4 seconds GET.
GDC Align stars: Stars to be used for GDC Align purposes are Sirius and Rigel.
There are two additional points given in the PAD. An ullage burn of 15 seconds should be made by all four RCS quads to settle the contents of the half-empty SPS tanks prior to the burn. This is to minimise the chance of helium gas being ingested when the engine ignites. The Moon's horizon should be lined up on the rendezvous window's 6° line at the moment of ignition.
078:32:46 Anders: Roger, Houston. TEI-6; SPS/G&N; 45701; minus 0.40, plus 1.57; 018:21:24.43; plus 3177.6, minus 0082.3, minus 0136.5; 180, 016, 001; N/A, plus 0018.8; 3181.6, 3:02, 3162.4; 40, 269.9. Are you with me?
078:33:39 Collins: Yeah, I'm with you, Bill.
078:33:44 Anders: 39.6; 033, down 05.4, left 2.1; plus 08.10, minus 165.00; 1296.8, 36222, 146:42:04; same GDC Align, Sirius and Rigel, 129, 155, 010; 4 jet, 15 seconds; horizon, 6 degrees, TIG minus 3. Over.
078:34:27 Collins: Roger, Bill. On your ignition time, GETI is 81 hours, 081. Over.
078:34:39 Anders: Roger. Got it, 081.
078:34:42 Collins: Thank you, sir.
078:34:46 Anders: Thank you, Michael. As a matter of interest, these side windows are so hazy, that when the Sun shines on them, they just about - they're real poor for any visual observation or photography - heads up.
078:35:04 Collins: Roger. Understand.
Comm break.
[Download MP3 audio file of onboard audio. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.]
078:36:35 Anders (onboard): Hey, that thing is so loose it's coming apart.
078:36:37 Collins: Roger. The last state vector updates we sent you, Jim, was to the LM slots and you'll have to transfer that over to the CSM slots using Verb 47 Enter. Over.
078:36:52 Lovell: Roger. Will do.
078:36:54 Collins: Thank you.
Comm break.
078:36:52 Anders (onboard): Okay, I'm going to go to Block, right?
078:36:55 Lovell (onboard): Yes.
078:36:57 Anders (onboard): Okay.
078:37:00 Lovell (onboard): That's in the checklist, isn't it - Verb 47 - or the Flight Plan?
078:37:06 Anders (onboard): What's that?
078:37:08 Lovell (onboard): Transfer of the state vector.
078:37:09 Anders (onboard): Yes. You did the IMU alignment? Think the GDC will last for another REV or not?
078:37:21 Lovell (onboard): That's okay.
078:37:26 Anders (onboard): Roll 180 degrees at 2 degrees per second.
078:37:45 Anders (onboard): You ready to roll, Jim?
078:37:47 Lovell (onboard): Yes, you're going back to what now?
078:37:55 Lovell (onboard): You're just going back to the landmark again.
078:38:00 Anders (onboard): Yes.
078:38:01 Lovell (onboard): Okay. You got - Do you have a map update, Bill?
078:38:23 Collins: Roger. Bill has got his tape recorder back, and we noticed during that last dump, it was all in low bit rate. We wonder whether that was intentional or not? Over. [Pause.]
078:38:35 Anders (onboard): Yes, he's asking if we didn't have anything to say.
078:38:38 Lovell (onboard): Yes.
078:38:42 Anders: Roger. We didn't have much to say; we couldn't see out of the windows very well, Mike.
[Download MP3 audio file of PAO announcer recording. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.]
This is Apollo Control, Houston here; and that's a pretty tired Jim Lovell we're hearing today. Take it from somebody who's listened to him now for some 18 - 14 and 4 and 3 - 21 days [he is adding up the days Jim has spent in space on Gemini 7, Gemini 12 and Apollo 8 so far]. Here's some more conversation, I think he's just about to get a Go for Rev 6.
078:39:07 Lovell (onboard): Okay. Here's a piece of camera equipment. Where does this go?
078:39:18 Anders (onboard): Stick it down in that box on the left - on your right-hand side - in one of those boxes.
078:39:22 Lovell (onboard): You still got about a quarter of a roll of film left a little more than that.
078:39:30 Anders (onboard): Okay, man.
078:39:31 Lovell (onboard): I'll stick it in my pocket.
078:39:32 Anders (onboard): We might an well use it.
078:39:36 Lovell (onboard): In order to identify it, why don't I just take this one off?
078:39:50 Anders (onboard): Here's your map, and here's your book, Jim.
078:39:52 Lovell (onboard): Okay. Okay, let me make sure I'm [garble].
078:40:05 Anders (onboard): Have you got through reviewing your landmark map?
078:40:09 Lovell (onboard): Okay, now here's what we have to do this time, Bill. I've got two AUTO OPTICS positions in, and - and - I've got to get a third landmark. Okay, let me see. The time would be...
078:40:39 Collins: Roger, Bill. This next time around into the sunlight, we do not expect any problem with the primary evaporator. If it does start drying out, we think it's best just to close the back-pressure valve, and there's no need to activate the secondary boiler. Over.
078:41:02 Anders: Okay. I guess the 60-degree limit will still hold then. [Pause.]
078:41:12 Collins: Stand by. [Long pause.]
078:41:40 Collins: Apollo 8, Houston. We're suggesting you disregard the 60-degree limit; let it go ahead and rise up above 60. There's no need to activate the secondary. Over.
078:41:54 Anders: Okay. We just don't want to boil our IMU.
078:42:03 Collins: Apollo 8, you're Go for the next lunar orbit rev.
078:42:06 Anders: Roger, Houston.
078:42:06 Anders (onboard): No, they just said don't worry about the sixt - No, it's working, but they said if it does act up, don't worry about the...
078:42:11 Lovell: Roger, Houston. I'll read the book this time.
078:42:14 Collins: Roger.
Very long comm break.
078:42:11 Anders (onboard): ...60-degree limit, with a secondary loop.
078:42:32 Anders (onboard): Frank, here's a map floating or - Jim, here's a map floating around.
078:42:40 Anders (onboard): 0h, it's right there.
078:42:42 Lovell (onboard): You know, that was one of the easiest points I've ever found.
078:42:46 Anders (onboard): Good.
078:42:47 Lovell (onboard): You didn't need maps or anything to make that [garble]. You saw it, too, didn't you? You didn't have to look at the map but one time?
078:42:58 Anders (onboard): Yes, out the side window there when we had the TV pass.
[Download MP3 audio file of PAO announcer recording. Clip courtesy John Stoll, ACR Senior Technician at NASA Johnson.]
Apollo Control here. We're 15 minutes to Loss of Signal. We'll take the line down and bring you any additional comments that may occur between now and Loss of Signal. This is Apollo Control, Houston at 78 hours, 43 minutes.
078:43:05 Lovell (onboard): I hope you got some good 70-millimeter shots of the area, Bill, because that's - that's it...
078:43:10 Anders (onboard): Of what area?
078:43:11 Lovell (onboard): Of our prime landing area, because right now we'll be passing over lighting conditions of our P-2...
078:43:16 Anders (onboard): I haven't, Jim, because we - we always roll about that time when we get TV.
078:43:22 Lovell (onboard): No, I'm still taking pictures. I'm still landmark tracking.
078:43:26 Anders (onboard): Yes, I can't take - I can't take pictures when you're tracking, because these side windows are shot. They look out the side anyway.
078:43:33 Lovell (onboard): Well, that's why I wanted to get some before when we were doing that tracking, because then - Did you do them when we got that other track?
078:43:38 Anders (onboard): I tried to.
078:43:42 Lovell (onboard): I think - Probably be our primary landing site.
078:43:44 Anders (onboard): Why don't you just make it a project just to make sure you get some, because you can recognize it better than I can.
078:43:55 Lovell (onboard): Oh, yes, but you...
078:43:56 Anders (onboard): You got...
078:43:57 Lovell (onboard): ...the 16-millimeter through here is lousy.
078:43:58 Anders (onboard): No, the 16's no good. You've got to - you've got a 70-millimeter lens? If you have image - if you - if you - if you track your target, then you've got better resolution than the other one.
078:44:10 Lovell (onboard): Well, the thing is, it doesn't show enough of what you want to look for; that's the big thing, too. Yet, in spite of the place to land, you...
078:44:16 Anders (onboard): Did you ever see how big it could work?
078:44:17 Lovell (onboard): ...you want the big picture.
078:44:18 Anders (onboard): Huh? Okay, let me show you how much you get, though.
078:44:26 Lovell (onboard): What - what I'm trying to show the people is the big - big areas around there, what they can see in the way of craters and mountains and things. You see, if I just show them a real fine resolution of a bunch of craters, they don't know what they are.
078:44:43 Anders (onboard): Okay.
078:44:44 Lovell (onboard): That's the big point.
078:44:48 Lovell (onboard): That's why that Earth-Moon shot with a whole big expanse of - What have we got?
078:44:53 Anders (onboard): High gain. Okay. It's behind us and up. Let's try omni B. Okay.
078:46:18 Anders (onboard): Okay. [Garble] pitch down at 0000.
078:46:36 Anders (onboard): Rolling over; got to get it back down.
078:46:47 Anders (onboard): It'll get worse before it gets better.
078:46:52 Lovell (onboard): Okay. Let's see, out first control point is at...
078:46:56 Anders (onboard): Okay, let's see how much time we got.
078:46:57 Lovell (onboard): ...78:46. We got all sorts of time. We got 25 minutes.
078:47:02 Anders (onboard): 0.2 of a degree per second.
078:47:25 Anders (onboard): You get - give me the word on the ORDEAL, here, Jim, and - let me know how we're doing. 62 60?
078:47:36 Lovell (onboard): Yes.
078:47:37 Anders (onboard): Okay, that sounds good. How about giving me a...
078:47:40 Lovell (onboard): Oh, that's our orbit.
078:47:44 Anders (onboard): Yes, how about giving me the High Gain?
078:47:51 Lovell (onboard): GDC isn't aligned in roll; I've got to do that.
078:47:54 Anders (onboard): Okay, stop your attitude there before you - stop your...
078:47:58 Lovell (onboard): Okay, I'll wait until I get there then.
078:49:49 Lovell (onboard): What else does the Flight Plan say, Bill?
078:49:53 Anders (onboard): I don't see any - There's a 16-millimeter camera, sextant bracket, C-EX, 1 - 1/500th of a second. You been having any at 1/500th of a second?
078:50:11 Lovell (onboard): Mine was at 250. They say 1/500th of a second, now?
078:50:13 Anders (onboard): Yes.
078:50:16 Anders (onboard): The other one's 1/250?
078:50:17 Lovell (onboard): Take a look, take a look.
078:50:20 Anders (onboard): [Garble] left and then 150th.
078:50:28 Lovell (onboard): Okay, 1/500th of a second.
078:50:30 Anders (onboard): Okay. Start it at IP-1 (CP-1?), time of closest approach.
078:50:33 Lovell (onboard): Okay.
078:50:54 Anders (onboard): That'll be doing spacecraft exterior atmosphere, but, hell, we can't do anything with these windows.
078:50:45 Lovell (onboard): Shouldn't it be getting a little more picturesque?
078:50:48 Anders (onboard): Yes, beginning rev 6. It doesn't seem like we've hardly been here that long, does it?
078:51:21 Lovell (onboard): It seems like I've been here forever.
078:51:32 Anders (onboard): You know, it really isn't all that - Anywhere near as interesting as I thought it was going to be. It's all beat up.
078:51:53 Lovell (onboard): The things that I saw that were interesting were the new craters.
078:51:57 Anders (onboard): Yes, but they're not the ones that people are really interested in; some of them they are, but...
078:53:55 Anders (onboard): Listen, I'm going to align the GDC here, Jim.
078:53:59 Lovell (onboard): Huh?
078:54:00 Anders (onboard): I'm going - align the GDC. You want to make sure I do it right?
078:54:03 Lovell (onboard): Well, let's get out the book.