Blasting Off -Earthrise: A Cosmic Miracle. The Vision of Apollo VIII By G.A. Blackburn
Blasting Off -Earthrise: A Cosmic Miracle. The Vision of Apollo VIII
By G.A. Blackburn
With the headlines and newscasts streaming the perils of the global pandemic and the associated chaos, it is hard to avoid the anxiety and stress of the crisis. This is not the first nor will it be the last pandemic we face. Consider maybe “What we need right now is a little Christmas!”
So here is a Christmas Story from Fifty years ago that is worth thinking about today.
December 24, 1968
There are many legacies from America’s Lunar Space Program. For me and many others none can be as profound as the Apollo VIII Mission. This was our first manned mission to the moon. Four days before Christmas in 1968, Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders launched their spacecraft to the moon on a journey filled with expectations and hope. They would return seven days later with a cosmic message and gift.
The Apollo VIII mission was a gift to us all in many ways, A technological achievement, a message of hope and a comfort in our isolation. As social creatures we need connection, we need contact. Social distancing is necessary sometimes and has its value, but our social isolation needs to be resolved.
As the Apollo 8 crew met the challenges of their mission they also would discover another solution to the problem of isolation. As with the Magi of the Christmas Story they discovered the power, the miracle and the need for social connection in during their journey and in the vision of the “Earthrise”.
The technical challenges of the mission caused severe disruptions in their sleep patterns and routines. The excitement of this historic adventure was another contributor to the stress of their journey. However, as they drew closer to the moon, short glimpses from their spacecraft of the earth would flash fond and familiar memories of the time and season, it was Christmas Eve. They entered lunar orbit and would continue passing over the lunar surface for ten orbits. Their focus was on the surfaces below searching the terrain for future landing sites. For the first three orbits they took turns trying to rest, work and keep the spacecraft flying. As they emerged from the fourth orbit through the windows they were the first humans to observe an “Earthrise”. During the summer another spacecraft had captured a picture of an earthrise but now Bill Anders saw it in all its magnificence. His excitement gathered the whole crews focus on this vision. Bill continued to take pictures not realizing that one image on the filmstrip in the camera would be their most precious cargo on the return to earth.
By the time they began their ninth orbit the mission would be nearing its end, it was now Christmas Eve.
They had already planned and prepared for a special TV Broadcast to Home Planet Earth. Frank Borman had selected the passage Genesis from the Bible about the earths creation. Each of the crew members read a passage while the entire world 250,000 miles away listened. They were connected in a way that transcended any distance in time or space.
The crew spent their Christmas Day preparing for a return home to earth, Jim Lovell announced to Mission Control in a message home that “Please be informed, yes there is a Santa Claus!” As the crew huddled together in the cramped spacecraft they still managed to exchange some gifts and eat a special rationed turkey dinner provided by fellow astronaut Deke Slayton.
Apollo VIII safely returned to earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on December 27, 1968.
The year 1968 was a chaotic year and was summed up in a telegram from a stranger to Frank Borman, "Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968."
William Anders observed, "We set out to explore the moon and instead discovered the Earth."
Bill’s photograph of the earth has become an icon of the environmental movement and a vision for humanities future. Our earth is a “Cosmic Miracle” and a home we all share. Each of us has a responsibility to protect and care for it. It is not only our home but also our spaceship as we travel through this universe. As we closeout 2020, let’s look forward to a new shared future.
Gerald Blackburn
North American Rockwell Engineer
About The Author:
Gerald is a native southern Californian who had a forty year plus career in Aerospace Engineering. He began at North American Aviation in 1962 and has worked on the X-15, the XB-70 Valkyrie, Apollo, Saturn SII, Apollo ASTP and Space Shuttle Programs. He has also participated in the public education community as a local school board member, teacher, and STEM curriculum designer. After retirement in 2003, he helped create the Aerospace Legacy Foundation and presided as president for several years. He has published the recent book, “Downey’s Aerospace History” by Arcadia Publishing. He is Founder and CEO of Tinkers Corner LLC and a member of the Columbia Memorial Space Center Foundation Board of Directors. You might have seen him or heard him in some of the recent documentaries celebrating Apollo’s 50th anniversary on CBS, NBC, Discover, History, Science, PBS American Experience, PBS https://www.kcet.org/shows/blue-sky-metropolis or the Apollo Chronicles. You also might have heard him as commentator during the long slow ride of the Endeavour shuttle to her new home in California. You can see his interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XXSgOtYOV6Q Images and Some editorial material courtesy of NASA. Article Copyright G.A. Blackburn April 2020