Bill Anders (LMP)

Just a rough estimate. And also, have you seen any more hints on that sensor problem on fuel cell 2?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Stand by one. I'll get the latest scoop on it for you, Bill.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Bill, there is nothing new on fuel cell number 2. We don't think there is anything at all wrong with the fuel cell. It's some sort of a sensor problem, but we don't have any new information on it.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Okay. They all look pretty good from here, Mike.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

I've got some updates for you whenever you are ready to copy.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Well, I've got a TLI plus 35 hour update, and then I have an update to Jim's checklist.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Let's have the TLI plus 30 before we get the checklist update.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

They never give up on the checklist, do they?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. This—when you get your maneuver PAD book out—the last maneuver PAD we gave you for the flyby PAD still remains valid. We would just like to remark that the entry angle, the Gamma, is slightly steeper than we consider ideal, but it's within our—sort of the noise level of our ability to predict at this time. So that flyby maneuver PAD remains valid. Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. Now on that page with the flyby maneuver, under your north set of stars, I have some new numbers for you because we've changed those stars from Navi and Polaris. As you recall, we changed to Sirius and Rigel, so—And that also, by the way, is the checklist update which I will give you later—but on that maneuver PAD, I have got three new angles for you using Sirius and Rigel when you are ready to copy those.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. How do you read? Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Houston, Apollo 8. Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger, Apollo 8. Houston. You are loud and clear now. We had a lot of background noise there for a few minutes. How are you reading me?

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. I'm reading you okay, Mike, and I read you the last time you asked me that, so I guess maybe I wasn't getting through to you.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. Well, did you copy on this flyby maneuver PAD? We've got three new angles. Are you ready to copy those?

Bill Anders (LMP)

I'm ready to copy the flyby angles.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. Roll 137. pitch 310, yaw 340. Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. Roll 137, pitch 310, yaw 340.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

That's affirmative, and I have the TLI plus 35 hour PAD when you are ready for it.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. Ready for the TLI plus 35.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. TLI plus 35 hours, SPS/G&N, 63023 minus 162 plus 129. Are you with me so far?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Good. 037:56:51.38, plus 00068, plus 00000, plus 46420 178 134 001, not applicable, plus 00202 46420 547 46211. Are you with me? Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. Loud and clear.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Good. 12 1383 327 023 up 172 left 22, plus 1293, minus 16500, 12905 36180 074:11:16. Comments: on your stars Sirius and Rigel, roll 010, pitch 294, yaw 320, no ullage. Other: one, fast return P37, DELTA-V equals 7821, for mid-Pacific landing for MTL; two, high speed procedures not required. Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. Are you ready for the readback?

Bill Anders (LMP)

TLI plus 35, SPS/G&N 63023, minus 162, plus 129 037:56:51.38, plus 00068, plus 00000, plus 46420 178 134 000, NA. Are you with me?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Yes, I'm with you, Bill. That last one should be 001.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. Y 001, NA, plus 00202 46420 547 46211 12 1383 327 023 up 172 left 22, plus 1293, minus 16500, plus 12905, plus 36180 074:11:16, Sirius, Rigel: 010 294 320, no ullage, fast return P37, 7821 mid-PAC; high speed not required. Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

That's about the size of it. You're getting pretty good at this thing, Bill, for a rookie.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Not bad. I just learned to read about a year ago.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Hey, I've got a flight plan update for Jim. It's on page G, George, 82 Able of his checklist. Over.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger. I've got it open. Go ahead, Mike.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. It's simply changing these north set of stars around. For Navi substitute Sirius, which is number 15, and for Rigel—correction—for Polaris substitute Rigel, number 12.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger. Substitute Rigel for Polaris and Sirius for Navi. How about shaft and trunnion; remain the same?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Your shaft and trunnions remain the same. Sirius remains on the 50-degree line just like Navi used to be. Rigel is down 1.3 degrees from your horizontal, from your M-line. Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. And let me know when it gets to be breakfast time. I've got a newspaper to read up to you and a few other things.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. I've got a Haney special here for you. The Interstellar Times latest edition says the flight to the moon is occupying prime space on both paper and television; it's THE news story. The headlines of the Post says “Moon, here they come”. We understand that Bill Anders will be in private conversation or communication today with an old man who wears a red suit and lives at the North Pole. A suspect in the Miami kidnapping was captured late yesterday, and the 11 GI's that have been detained 5 months in Cambodia were released yesterday and will make it home in time for Christmas.

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Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. With reference to the first, we saw him earlier this morning, and he was heading your way.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. We'll pass the word along. David Eisenhower and Julie Nixon were married yesterday in New York. He was described as “nervous”.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

The Browns took Dallas apart yesterday 31 to 20. We're sort of curious, who do you like today, Baltimore or Minnesota? Over.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Baltimore.

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Spoken on Dec. 22, 1968, 2 p.m. UTC (56 years ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

How many points are you giving?

Bill Anders (LMP)

(Laughter) He's not making many points at home with that comment.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Understand. Oh, I've got another score for you when you are ready to copy. Are you ready to copy?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Navy 14, Army 21. Would you like for me to repeat that? Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

You are very garbled; Houston; I'm unable to read. Will call you back in another year.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. We also notice the University of Houston lost their first home basketball game in 3-1/2 years last night. Illinois edged them out 97 to 84. And some really big news: the State Department announced only a few minutes ago that the Pueblo crew will be released at 9 p.m. tonight.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Sounds good. Outboard calculations indicate that Apollo 8 at 25 hours is 104 000 miles from home.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Yes. Our plot board shows a similar number.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Mighty nice view from here.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

We're showing about 104 800 miles, and we're guessing another 8 to 10 hours on your battery charge.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Frank, say again about the view. You were blocked, I think.

Frank Borman (CDR)

This is a mighty nice view we have down there today. A little bit more than a half earth. Looks like Africa and the Red Sea is visible; we're not quite sure as there is quite a bit of cloud cover; but even through the hazy windows, it's mighty nice.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

How are your windows? Do you have a couple left that are real clear?

Frank Borman (CDR)

The rendezvous windows are good. The others are all about the same as they were when we last reported. One and five have a slight haze and a little fog on the inside.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Just as a matter of curiosity for Bill, we can say a few words about the heaters for the cryo tanks, and also for the fans. We've noticed that the heaters are doing their thing normally, cycling on and off; and as time goes by, this cycle rate increases, indicating a little bit of stratification in the tanks. And then when we've been turning the fans on every 4 hours for a couple of minutes, this stirs things up and the heaters then cycling on and off again more slowly for awhile, until again a little bit of stratification occurs, and the cycling becomes slightly more rapid. This is, of course, normal; we just point it out as a curiosity to you. Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. I haven't really been following it that close. One thing I have noticed is when you turn the fans on you get a glitch in the quantity, which might correspond to a glitch in AC. Maybe the next time we'll look at the AC volts and see what happens.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Our experts say that's not the reason for the glitch. They say the stratification fakes out the capacitance sensor there for a second.

Bill Anders (LMP)

I knew they would have some big deal answer for me.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Any other information you want us to send up to you?

Bill Anders (LMP)

No, we're going to zap you with the high gain here shortly.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Houston, this is Apollo 8. How do you read on the high gain?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Reading you loud and clear, Bill. How me?

Bill Anders (LMP)

I'm reading you loud and clear. I'll go ahead and dump this. You might want to listen to it in real time to evaluate the voice.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. We'll do that as soon as we can.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Give me a call when you are ready.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Do you want to dump it by your command, or would you like us to command the dump on it? Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Oh, you can go ahead and command whenever you are ready.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. we are starting now; thank you.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. I've already rewound.

Bill Anders (LMP)

There is only about 5 minutes worth on the tape, Houston.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Understand, Bill. You promised me you would wait 3 days before you started doing this, Bill.

Bill Anders (LMP)

It has been a long trip.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger, Bill. We've got your dump, and the voice quality is very good. We we going to take about 20 minutes or so to get it back to Houston to play it.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. Where are you taking it through, Houston?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

It comes through Madrid and then Ascension, Bill.