Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. Plus 1197 minus 16500 12681 35608 050:46:53, GDC align north set stars, roll 068, pitch 097, yaw 356, ullage none; other: one, fast return, P37, DELTA-V equals 7900 for Indian Ocean; number 2, high-speed procedure not required; number 3, assumes no midcourse correction number 1. Over.

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Spoken on Dec. 21, 1968, 6:18 p.m. UTC (55 years, 3 months ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. TLI plus 11. SPS/G&N 63330 minus 163 plus 129 013:56:47.59 minus 00489 plus 00000 plus 47250. You copy so far?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Yes. I'm with you so far.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Affirmative; I'm with you.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roll 177 144 00 NA plus 00197 47253 554 47050 12 1278 26, correction 256 023, up 265, left 18. Copy so far?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Yes, I'm with you so far, Bill; go ahead.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Plus 1197, minus 16500 12681 35608 0506, correction 050:46:53 north set 068 097 356, zero ullage. Note one: fast return, P37, DELTA-V 7900 Indian Ocean; two, high-speed procedure not required; three, PAD assumes no MCC 1. Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

That's all correct, Bill.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger, Mike. I'd like to give some comments on P23 data. The auto maneuver was quite accurate. Looks like we got some substellar point in the maneuver; auto optics put Canopus straight where it should be; minimum impulse control worked as advertised. At the altitudes at which I started to do the sightings, they have a definite hazy band line. The filter gives the earth a glow, sort of an orangey glow. It's very indefinite of where to put the star, but there does seem to be a solid line where you might expect the horizon to be that appears through the haze where we expect the atmosphere to be. I followed the procedure which we had done up at MIT, about two lines atop the haze layer a definite line for these sightings. In regards to the optics calibration, it was very difficult to find a star in the landmark line of sight in the venting of the S-IVB.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger, Apollo 8. We copied that, and we'd like for you to do that trunnion check, that calibration, prior to your next set of sightings.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger. Will do. Canopus just disappeared from view, and maybe when we get a little time here, I'll try to get a calibration the first time.

Bill Anders (LMP)

And, Houston, we've rewound the tape; you can dump it at your convenience.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger, Bill. Thank you. Are you still picking up anything on the VHF?

Bill Anders (LMP)

Are you playing anything?

Bill Anders (LMP)

No, I'm not picking anything up.

Bill Anders (LMP)

What's our altitude now?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Well, you're about 22 000 miles.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Give or take a thousand feet.

Bill Anders (LMP)

I'll go ahead and turn VHF-A off and high gain.

Bill Anders (LMP)

It was some pretty nice music while it lasted.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

We're going to have to wait until we get the high-gain antenna locked on again to dump the tape.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Okay. And you are about ready for us to go to the PTC attitude?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

We'd like to hold off on the PTC and get some more P23 information. We'll have some more details of that for you shortly.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Mike, what I'm doing now, I'm going over to the star Sirius …

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. You faded out completely, Jim. I heard Frank, but it faded when you began talking. Say again.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger. I have switched to Sirius, the second star in the first set, to see if I can't get an optics calibration on it, at least.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. That's fine. We'll have some more good words for you shortly.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Jim, on your P23, we'd like to go ahead and do the calibration and then use star number 15 and take three sets, followed by star number 16, two sets. Over.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger, Houston. That's what we're trying to do. I'm trying to get 15 for an optics CAL. It's been very difficult with the bright earth to find a star that we can get into the sextant. I'm trying to use the auto optics in P23 to get the star. We have that now; we're trying to maneuver the spacecraft to bring the trunnion to zero so we can get the landmark line of sight.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Understand. And I also have your PTC attitude, which is different than you have. I'll give that to you whenever you get a free moment.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Alright. PTC attitude will be pitch 242; yaw is 020. Over.