Spacelog Apollo 8

Roger. Looks like the evaporator—looks like the evaporator is holding okay, or at least it is trying to. It dropped the temperature down to about 32, and now it's come back up again and stabilized at about 42 degrees.

Roger. Copy you, Bill.

Houston, Apollo 8.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Roger. Houston, this is Apollo 8. What we are doing on the control point tracking—I managed to look for a CP-1 at the same time we were trying to do a CP-2 on this rev. I picked up two marks which are just as small, but more easily recognizable, than the ones that were given to me. I know that I can repeat the process and pick the same small point on the next rev. Now I can try to look for the control points that are written down, but I think that I have better control over the ones that we have.

Roger, Jim. Understand. We'll check that for you.

Roger. One more point: the control point times which you have given me are a little bit off, and I can notice by comparing these maps that these maps are not too well aligned either.

Roger. These two small points that you can repeat your marks on: will you be able to identify those precisely on a map? Over.

That's affirmative; that is why I picked them. They are both—they're both very prominent features, and they are both very small craters about the same size as the ones we are looking for, but I can pinpoint them on a map.

Roger.

Houston, Apollo 8.

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Roger. One more comment: as it offered a lot of controversy at data priority meetings, it looks like 10 degrees pitch up is the best attitude to obtain the horizon so that you can follow the landmark down through the scanning telescope. If you pitch down any more, full up trunnion will not get the horizon, and the horizon is a great help in leading yourself into the control point.

Roger. Understand.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead.

Jim, we concur with your use of the two small craters which you can repeatedly mark on and find on the map; and also if you will give us your new latitudes and longitudes, we can compute for you a time of closest approach to those points with the spacecraft 10 degrees pitched-up. Over.

Roger, Houston. CP-1 latitude minus 606269, longitude over 2, minus 78954, altitude plus 00152; for CP-2 latitude minus 09638, longitude over 2, plus 81691, altitude minus 00007. I tried to get CP-3 at the same pass, but I let it go by to get set up for this first track at the landing site.

Roger, Houston. CP-1: would you say again the latitude, and on CP-2, say again the longitude CP-2, please?

Roger. CP-1 latitude minus 06269; that is the latitude; and for longitude over 2 for CP-2, plus 81691.

Okay. We copied them. Thank you.

And it appears that resolve medium is a very good combination to track.

Roger. I understand. Resolve medium.

And it appears so far, Houston, that no spacecraft pitch motion is required to get five marks on the target in plenty of time.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead.

Go ahead, Houston.

Roger. I am about 15 minutes early with the TEI fix update and the map update. I will have them here whenever it's convenient for you to copy.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead.

Roger. We would like to ask you to stop using AUTO OPTICS on the pseudo landing site. It's necessary that we send you up a P27 to update the RLS values stored in the computer. Over.

Roger. I found … I went to MANUAL OPTICS on B-1.

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Go ahead, Houston.

Roger. If you would go to P00 and ACCEPT, please, we are going to send you a P27 load which will update an RLS value which will be followed by a procedural change, Jim, we will give you later; and AUTO OPTICS should be working shortly.

Roger. Or I could use no landmark AUTO OPTICS instead of the code.

Apollo 8, Houston. We are also sending you up a state vector update at the same time.

Okay. We will be expecting that.

Apollo 8, Houston. We're taking the DSE for a dump. Over.

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Go ahead, Houston.

Roger. We would like to take Bill's DSE for a dump. Over.

Roger. Go ahead.

Houston, Apollo 8. We're ready for the—your updates, your PAD's.

Apollo 8, Houston. Roger. I have updates, a map update for REV 5/6, and TEI 6 update. Which would you like first?

Okay. I've got the map update page now. Why don't you give me that one?

Okay. Map update for REV 5/6. LOS 78:58:49, sunrise 79:08:07, prime meridian 79:14:30, AOS 79:44:36, sunset 80:21:05; IP-1, time of closest approach to target B-1 80:09:00. Now your two new control points that Jim gave us: control point number 1, acquisition 79:10:32, control point number 2, acquisition 79:23:14. Over.

Roger. Copy. Ready for the TEI.

Okay, Bill. Before we read the big TEI update here, I'd like to give Jim briefly a procedure for P22. When he comes to NOUN 89, we request that he do a VERB 34 ENTER. Do not proceed, and by so doing then, he will not incorporate the lat and longitude from his mark, and he will not change the reference value of the landing site, and we will solve this AUTO OPTICS problem. Over.

Let me see if I have this correct, Mike. When flashing 0689 comes up with the latitude and longitude information, I will not proceed but will go to VERB 34 and terminate. Is that correct?

Yes, that is affirmative. Do a VERB 34 ENTER instead of a PROCEED. And that will -

Alright. Is this technique true -

Houston, is this technique true for both the node control point AUTO OPTICS on P25?

Stand by one, Jim.

And the LM …

That is affirmative, Apollo 8. That is always true.

Okay. Roger. True for the code AUTO OPTICS and no landmark. I'll proceed instead of going on—or I'll use 34 instead proceeding on 89.

Roger. Thank you, Jim, and I have the TEI 6 hour when you are ready—or TEI number 6.

Go ahead.

Ready to copy.

Roger. I'm glad you are ready to copy TEI number 6. I've got one last comment for Jim before you do so. The VERB 89—or correction—the NOUN 89 we are talking about is the one that he gets after marking. There are two NOUN 89's, one prior to marking and one after, and our procedure references NOUN 89 after marking. Over.

Roger. Understand.

Thank you, and, Bill, you still ready to copy?

Ready to copy, Mike.

TEI 6, SPS/G&N: 45701, minus 040, plus 157. Are you with me so far?

Roger.

081:21:24.43, plus 31776, minus 00823, minus 01365 180 016 001, not applicable, plus 00188. Are you still with me? Over.

That's Roger.

Good. 31816 302 31624 40 2699 396 033, down 054, left 21, plus 0810 control minus 16500 12968 36222 146:42:04; GDC align remains the same; Sirius and Rigel, roll 129, pitch 155, yaw 010, ullage four quads for 15 seconds; horizon on 6-degree line at TIG minus 3 minutes. Over.

Roger, Houston. TEI 6, SPS/G&N: 45701, minus 040, plus 157 018:21:24.43, plus 31776, minus 00823, minus 01365 180 016 001, NA, plus 00188 31816 302 31624 40 2699. Are you with me?

Yes, I'm with you, Bill.

396 033, down 054, left 21, plus 08 10 minus 16500 12968 36222 146:42:04; same GDC align; Sirius and Rigel, 129 155 010, four jet, 15 seconds, horizon 6 degrees, TIG minus 3. Over.

Roger, Bill. On your ignition time, GETI is 81 hours, 081. Over.

Roger. Got it, 081.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Michael. As a matter of interest, these side windows are so hazy that when the sun shines on them, they just about—they are real poor for any visual observation or photography—heads-up.

Roger. Understand.

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Go ahead, Houston.

Roger. The last state vector updates we sent you, Jim, was to the LM slots, and you will have to transfer that over to the CSM slots using VERB 47 ENTER. Over.

Roger. Will do.

Thank you.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead, Houston.

Roger. Bill has got his tape recorder back, and we noticed during that last dump, it was all in low bit rate. We wonder whether that was intentional or not? Over.

Roger. We didn't have much to say; we couldn't see out of the windows very well, Mike.

Roger. Understand.

It was really too bad.

Apollo 8, Houston. —

Go ahead —

Roger, Bill. This next time around into the sunlight, we do not expect any problem with the primary evaporator. If it does start drying out, we think it is best just to close the back pressure valve, and there is no need to activate the secondary boiler. Over.

Okay. I guess the 6O-degree limit will still hold then.

Stand by.

Apollo 8, Houston. We are suggesting you disregard the 60 degree limit, and let it go ahead and rise up above 60. There is no need to activate the secondary. Over.

Okay. We just don't want to boil our IMU.

Roger. Understand then. Apollo 8, you are GO for the next lunar orbit REV.

Roger, Houston.

Roger, Houston. I'll read the book this time.

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Go ahead, Houston. Apollo 8 —

Roger. We have about 4-1/2 minutes left before we have LOS; we'd like your last PRD readout. Over.

Stand by. The commander is asleep; we'll get his when he wakes up. The LMP is still 6 … 0.64, C is 9, CMP is 0.09.

Apollo 8, Houston. About 40 seconds to LOS, and everything's looking good down here.

Roger. Houston. We will give it another try here.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Over.

Houston, Apollo 8. Over.

Reading you very weak but—a lot of background noise. Welcome back around. How are you reading us?

Reading you fine.

Houston, Apollo 8.

Apollo 8, Houston. Go ahead.

Roger, Houston. A few words on our optics tracking system. I used AUTO OPTICS for control points 1 and 2 on the backside, and they worked beautifully, tracked both the targets for me. And I went to the control point 3 as designated in our orbital control book to see the latitude and longitude that was given to me and used AUTO OPTICS to track that particular coordinate system, and it was very close to the actual tracking plot. I picked the mark there where I did a final marking and recorded latitude and longitude. I'm now about to come up on the landing site and using AUTO OPTICS in the coded input to see how that works.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead.

Roger. We know you're busy so we are not going to bother you. We are watching your progress on the DSKY. You are looking good; all your systems are looking good, and we have maneuver PAD's for you any time at your convenience.

Roger. We will take them when we are doing the P52, if that's okay.

Mike, Apollo 8.

Apollo 8, go ahead.

Mike, there are an awful lot of objects down on the landing site. It would just warm up Jack Schmidt's heart. The AUTO OPTICS are tracking perfectly on the target, and the two high peaks stand out beautifully. I have a beautiful view of it. The first I've seen just barely beneath the vertical now, and the second one coming up—It's just a grand view!

Roger, Jim. Glad to hear it. Jack's listening.