Spacelog Apollo 8

Houston, we are going to have to hold up on the cislunar navigation until after this next little maneuver.

Roger, Jim. We understand.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead now, Mike.

Can you give us an updated readout of your gimbal angles. When your plus X-axis is pointed toward the booster, please?

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead, Houston.

Could you give us those gimbal angles, Frank, when you have a chance?

I'm getting the COAS right on it now so it will be accurate.

Thank you.

Houston, Apollo 8. Over.

Apollo 8, Houston. Go ahead.

Roger. If it will help you any, Mike, the earth is plus Y about 45 degrees in a minus X. I can see it out my side window, and it's a beautiful view with numerous cloud vortex.

Roger, Bill. Thank you. Understand; plus X 45 degrees halfway between plus Y and plus Z and slightly minus X.

Negative. It's 45 degrees in the plus Y, in the XY plane towards minus X. Over.

Roger. Understand in the XY plane, toward X 45 degrees.

Forty-five degrees from plus Y to minus X.

Roger. Thank you.

It's behind us to the right, if that will help.

Roger.

I can still see the Cape and isthmus of Central America.

Roger. Understand. Frank, what we want on this burn is 8 feet per second now, 8 feet per second. We want it radially upward, and we want you to use whatever thrusters are required to burn radially upward at 8 feet per second.

Why do you want to use—do so much, Mike?

Because of the separation distance we would like to achieve between now and the time of S-IVB blowdown.

Okay.

Mike, do you want me to go ahead and try to do this, or are you going to give me some gimbal angles?

Apollo 8, Houston. Go ahead and do it without gimbal angles, if you can do that. Over.

Okay. I don't understand why you want so many feet per second on it, but I think I can—with just a little maneuvering, I can get away from it a lot simpler than that.

Well, we would like the radial upward for trajectory reasons, and the magnitude we'd like because of the separation distance which we're predicting you will have at S-IVB blowdown.

Okay.

VHF sounds good.

Roger. On the VHF.

OMNI B.

Understand; OMNI B Baker.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead, Houston. Apollo 8.

Roger. About 12 minutes before your big blowdown, there is a small continuous vent which opens at a GET of 04:55:55. You may notice that on the booster, 12- or 15-pound thrust.

Okay.

And, Apollo 8, could you give us your burn information whenever you have it?

Roger. We are maneuvering to the attitude now.

Okay.

Okay, Houston. I understand you want 8 feet per second burn, is that right?

Right. Eight feet per second, radially upward.

Well, we are as close to being radially upward as we can determine.

Roger.

Apollo 8, Houston. Are you going to use P47 to monitor the burn?

Yes, Jim, that's Roger. We are putting it in right now.

Thank you.