Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. We have a request that Jim space his marks, his five marks out a bit more slowly. If possible, we would like to get a couple of them past the zenith. We're getting five of them with rather rapid spacing, and from the geometry viewpoint, it would be better if you'd slow them down a little bit and lengthened them out so as to include a couple of them past the zenith. Over.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Houston, Apollo 8. That last set of marks are invalid. Disregard what Jim drew the last time.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Understand the last set of marks are invalid. Over.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger. If you would correlate … the last set.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

We have an awful lot of background noise, Jim. Could you say again, please?

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger. I'm coming up on control point 3. I tried to stick another control point in between 2 and 3. It didn't do it, so I just took out our program, marked it down on the program.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Understand you are coming up on 3.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Go ahead, Houston. Apollo 8.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. On Jim's marks, we'd like to get spacing of approximately 30, 30 seconds between each mark. The last ones we are copying roughly 15 seconds between marks, and we would like to stretch it out even further if that is okay with you.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger, Mike. I find that tracking is much easier using the sextant than the scanning telescope. You have finer control, and at these orbital speeds, resolved to medium seem to be the best combination.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger, Jim. I copy that it's easier for you to use the sextant than the scanning telescope. It gives you finer control, and say again after that.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Do you read?

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. I copy that it's—tracking is easier using the sextant than the scanning telescope; it gives you finer control, and say again after that. Over.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

And the combination of resolved and medium is perhaps the best combination of—combination of—speed low is too low; we can't catch up with the target.

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Spoken on Dec. 24, 1968, 10:54 p.m. UTC (55 years, 9 months ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. Understand that the best combination is resolved and medium. Low is just too low.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Over.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger. I'm not too sure what happened that time, Mike. I was marking on the landing sites, using the code, and I kept getting a large trunnion for AUTO OPTICS. And I could see the target, or landing site was coming up, so I just went manually and marked and got the—the latitude and longitude were quite different from the nominal.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. We copy that, Jim.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Go ahead, Houston. Apollo 8.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. We're checking into Jim's remarks on his P22; and in the meantime, I have your maneuver PAD's and map updates, at your convenience. Over.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Go ahead with your data, Mike.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. And before that, we'd like to take the DSE away from you, please, for a while.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Thank you, and we'd like you to go to P00 and ACCEPT. We have a P27 state vector update for you.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

There's P00, and I'm going to ACCEPT.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Which would you like first, the map update or the TEI 8?

Jim Lovell (CMP)

The map would be fine.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. Map update: LOS 82:55:54, sunrise 83:05:49, prime meridian 83:11:38, AOS 83:41:43, sunset 84:18:45; remarks: control point 1 acquisition 83:07:39, control point 2 acquisition 83:20:21, control point 3 ACQ 83:41:51, B-1 acquisition 84:02:28. Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Roger. The TEI 8 PAD, SPS/G&N: 45701, minus 040, plus 157 085:18:19.04. Are you with me so far? Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. Plus 3195, minus 01267, plus 04716 179 008 001, not applicable, plus 00187 33552 311 33355 42 0909 252. Are you still with me? Over.

Mike Collins (CAPCOM)

Okay. Picking up with the boresight star, it's old Dzuba who is the center star in the head of Scorpio; he's down 060, left 42, plus 0773, minus 16500 12982 36256 146:46:18. North set stars remain Sirius, Rigel, roll 129, pitch 155, yaw 010; four-quad ullage of 15 seconds, horizon on a 4-degree line at TIG, and requesting you zero the optics. Over.