Spacelog Apollo 8

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Go ahead, Houston. Apollo 8 here.

Roger. We have been having a little antenna problem on the ground here. We are reading you now with a lot of noise in the background. How me?

Loud and clear, Michael.

Roger. Frank, we are still trying to get a little bit better COMM here. Stand by; you're unreadable.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Loud and clear, Houston. Apollo 8.

I understand you are reading us loud and clear; we are barely reading you. Would you go to P00 in ACCEPT, please? We are going to send you a P27 update.

Roger. Going to P00 and to ACCEPT, Houston.

We are in P00 and ACCEPT.

Apollo 8, Houston. You are not readable. We are going to delay the P27 until we get a little bit better lock on you.

As long as you're reading me okay, Frank, I'll bring you up to date on a couple of things. The P27 which we will be sending you is a state vector update going to the LM slot, and we'd like to—as per plan—to transfer that to the CSM slot by a VERB 47 ENTER, and we would like to just remind you that prior to doing your VERB 47 ENTER manually select P00 and wait for the computer activity light to go out. Did you copy? Over.

Roger. Roger. We copy.

Okay, Frank. Are you still reading me loud and clear? Over.

Roger. Loud and clear.

Alright. I'll go ahead with a map update when you're ready to copy.

Okay. Can you hold off a minute?

Apollo 8, this is Houston. How are you reading now?

Go ahead, Houston. This is Apollo 8.

Apollo 8, this is Houston with a map update. Are you ready to copy?

Just a minute, Mike.

Roger. Apollo 8, Houston. Your map update for REV 4/5: LOS 76:59:59, sunrise 77:09:06, prime meridian 77:15:47, AOS 77:45:50, sunset 78:22:03; IP-1 position time for control point 2, 77:29:42; IP-1 time closest approach for target B-1, 78:10:25. Over.

We'll have to get that data later on.

We'll try it again later, Frank.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Roger, Houston. How do you read?

Reading you a lot better, Bill. How are you reading me?

I'm reading you five—loud and clear, and you copying our low bit data to record these tracking passes? Over.

That is affirmative. We are getting low bit data now.

Okay. I've played—run the tape recorder back to the beginning. We have quite a bit of high bit, so all you'll have to do is start recording when you are ready.

Roger. Stand by one, Bill.

Apollo 8, Houston. Stand by one on the tape recorder dump. We would like you to look at your steam pressure. We think that the primary evaporator may have dried out, and if the steam pressure shows off-scale low, would you please close the back pressure valve and reservice the evaporator? Over.

Roger.

Apollo 8, Houston. We are ready to send you the P27 LM state vector update when you are ready. Over.

You will have to wait until this tracking exercise is over with, Mike.

Apollo 8.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Were you calling? Over.

Roger. You can go ahead now and give you computer and get the updates, and let's get going on the PAD messages.

Roger.

It is in P00 and ACCEPT.

Okay, Houston. Are you ready to talk about the water boiler problem?

Roger. We copy you in P00 and ACCEPT, and we are sending you a P27 LM state vector. On the water boiler, it looks to us like the evaporator has been reserviced. How does it look to you? Over.

Roger. I reserviced it, put it to AUTO—H₂O flow to AUTO; and the steam pressure went to zero again. So I tried reservicing it the second time for 1 minute, and again no results. I'm in the present process of closing the back pressure valve manually. Over.

Negative. We have not copied it yet.

Negative.

Okay. I have it for you again when you are ready to copy.

Ready to copy.

This is a map update for REV's 4/5: LOS 76:59:59, sunrise 77:09:06, prime meridian 77:15:47, AOS 77:45:50, sunset 78:22:03; remarks: IP-1, acquisition time for CP2 is 77:29:42, IP-1 time closest approach for target B-1 78:10:25. Over.

Roger. LOS 76:59:59, sunrise 77:09:06, 77:45:47, 77:45:50, 78:22:03; IP-1, CP2 77:29:42, IP-1 TCA for B-1 78:10:25.

That's right, and the prime meridian time is 77:15:47, and you got your computer back. We've got a good P27 update.

Okay. We will go to P00 and TRANSFER.

Roger.

Houston, do you have a TEI 5 for us?

We are working on it now, Frank. Have it for you momentarily.

Roger.

Apollo 8. Houston.

Go.

Roger. On your back pressure valve, we would like to know how long after you closed the back pressure valve the first time—how long it was from the time you closed it until the time you started the reservicing? We would like for you to wait about 15 minutes to prevent any ice from forming due to flash freezing. Over.

Okay. I started immediately to reservice it.

Apollo 8, Houston. We show that you closed it this last time about 4 minutes ago, so we would like you to wait another 15 minutes and then try to reservice it again at that time and then go to AUTO. Over.

Roger.

Roger. Thank you. The TEI 4 PAD which you have is still valid. We will have a TEI 5 PAD for you shortly.

Roger. Be advised we are presently in steam pressure MANUAL, and we're in H₂O flow AUTO, and are now in H₂O flow OFF, as of about 5 seconds ago.

Roger. We copy that, Bill. And we confirm that's a good configuration.

Right now, I've got the H₂ flow OFF. Do we stay that way?

Affirmative.

Apollo 8, Houston. On your television update, we propose that you start the TV at the flight plan time of 85 hours 37 minutes and simply extend the stop time a few minutes. You're currently scheduled to stop at 86 hours, and we would like to keep it going until the terminator, which should be approximately 86:14. Over.

Roger.

Frank, I know you are busy up there. We've got the daily news for you whenever and if ever you'd like to hear it.

I'll give you a call.

Apollo 8, this is Houston.

Go ahead.

I have the TEI 5 PAD for you whenever you are ready to copy.

Okay. Go ahead.

Okay. TEI 5, SPS/G&N: 47 correction—45701, minus 043, plus 116 079:21:26.03. Are you with me so far?

Roger.

Plus 31171, minus 00767, minus 00214 180 017 001, not applicable, plus 00188 31181 259 31003. Are you with me? Over.

Roger.

Roger. 40 2711 398 033, down 043, left 23, plus 0832 minus 16500 12956 36208 146:39:44; north set of stars remain Sirius and Rigel; roll, pitch, and yaw remain same angles: 129 155 010, ullage remains two quads for 20 seconds, quads B and D; horizon on 4-degree line at TIG minus 3 minutes. Over.

Roger. Here we go: TEI 5, SPS/G&N 45701, minus 043, plus 116 079:21:26.03, plus 31171, minus 00767, minus 00214 180 017 001, NA, plus 00188 31181 259 31003 40 2711 398 033, down 043, left 23, plus 0832, minus 16500, plus 12956 36208 146:39:44. Set stars are the same; ullage—we'd like—do you have any objection to using four quads for 15 seconds?

No objection to four-quad ullage, Apollo 8.

Okay. We'd like to just go ahead and use four quads all times, unless we get a lot shorter on fuel than we are now.

Understand.

And is that 15 seconds?

Affirmative: 15 seconds, four quads.

Apollo 8 —

Thank you, and horizon is 4 degrees at minus —

That readback is correct, Frank, and we'd like to advise that the voice quality on that high bit rate is excellent. Over.

Thank you. Mike, it's four quads for 15 seconds. Is that right?

That is affirmative, Apollo 8: four quads for 15 seconds.

Thank you.

Apollo 8, Houston.