Spacelog Apollo 8

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead, Houston.

Okay. We have checked into your drogue time, and the number of 08:16 on your entry PAD is correct. We'll be giving you an updated entry PAD on the scheduled time of 143:30. At the same time, we'll be giving you an update of your state vectors for the LM and CSM. The midcourse correction number 7 was less than seven-tenths foot per second, and we will not execute it. You have a P52 scheduled at 143:30 which is not required. It's your option. However, if you decide to delete the P52, the CMC self-check and DSKY condition light test are still requirements. Over.

On that DSKY check . ..

Apollo 8, Houston. That's my mistake on CMC self-check and DSKY condition light. That's an optional test. Over.

That's what we thought, Ken. Gosh, if that's been working perfectly for 6 days, I don't see any reason to test it.

I agree.

Thank you.

Morning, Ken. How's Houston this morning?

Just fine. Nice and balmy.

Houston, Apollo 8. Over.

Go ahead, Apollo 8.

Apollo 8, go ahead.

I am just—It is my understanding that we are to bring up the secondary loop at 1 hour prior to SEP, isn't that right?

That is affirmative, about page Echo 9.

Okay.

And Bill, … suggested if we have the water boiler going on the primary loop, that you—you might wait about 5 minutes or so before you initiate the secondary loop.

Wait 5 minutes from what? From the time the primary loop starts or from 1 hour?

From the time the primary loop starts; this will give you a check to see if it had a chance to dry out or not.

Oh, I am with you. Okay.

And for your information, we already have a VHF downlink. It's poor quality, but we do have contact.

Okay. We haven't turned anything over to VHF yet.

Okay.

We tried to call you on the VHF though, Ken.

Roger. I say, the quality is pretty poor; they may not be able to understand you.

Houston, Apollo 8. Over.

Go ahead, Apollo 8.

Apollo 8, Houston. Go ahead.

Ken, we got two things going here which make this suit heat exchanger flow a little different. One of them is we are not doing a coldsoak, and the other one is we are powering down the secondary loop prior to SEP. And I wonder if it is a good idea to have the suit heat exchanger only on a secondary loop in that case. And plus the fact that we haven't got any cabin heat exchanger.

I don't think that was the intent, Bill. What they had in mind, we have the suit heat exchanger on both loops; and if they got too cold, you could use the panel switching to shut down the primary loop through the heat exchanger. But in any event, you would always have something going to the suit heat exchanger. I recognize that we are going to be shutting down the secondary heat exchanger pre-SEP and then turning it back on prior to entry, but the idea was to have both primary and secondary loops on the suit heat exchanger simultaneously.

Yes, my checklist doesn't reflect that. I think that's a good idea because we are a little suspect of our cabin fans and don't plan to use them.

Houston, Apollo 8. Over.

Okay, Apollo 8. We would like to update your LM state vector, CSM state vector, and target point. If it is convenient now, why, we will go ahead and do that if you will go to P00 and ACCEPT.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead, Houston. Apollo 8.

Okay. The loads are in and verified, and the computer is yours.

Okay.

You can take it back to BLOCK, and for Bill's information, latest guess from the main bus post-SEP voltage to 27.5

Guess! You mean the EECOM's are guessing?

At least, they are honest for a change.

That is more than you can say for the computers.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead, Houston. Apollo 8.

Okay, 8. We have an entry PAD for you.

Good. Just a minute.

Ready to copy, Houston.

Houston, Apollo 8. Entry PAD as follows: mid-Pacific, 357 152 359 146:29:30 268 plus 0813 minus 16503 065 36221 645 12122 36301 146:46:14 0028, next block not applicable, 400 0212 0025 0334 0814 16059 312, Zeta Persei, up 165, right 35 up, use nonexit EMS pattern, backup alignment; Sirius, Rigel, roll 308, pitch 209, yaw 357, and we won't need P65.

Okay, Apollo 8. I would like to verify sextant star shaft 0590, and the boresight star.

Roger.

The last one is right 34. Over.

Roger. Boresight star is right 34. And I have the sextant shaft; that's 0590.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Apollo 8, Apollo 8, Houston.

Go ahead, Houston.

Okay, Apollo 8. Can you tell us if you've done anything with your potable water? We've noticed our readout has gone from 100 percent down to 56 in the last couple of minutes.

We're reading about 50 percent right now.

Roger. That correlates with what we see. Have you done anything to change configuration? Over.

Yes, we noticed the venting here, too, Houston.

Jim, did you mean you could visually see it?

Yes, we're—oh, stand by, Ken. Bill just dumped urine, so that might have been urine we were seeing.

Bill just shut the potable inlet, Ken.

Houston, Apollo 8.

Go ahead, 8.

Apollo 8, Apollo 8, go ahead.

Roger, Houston. We're still showing about 52 percent, and we had our switch on waste so we don't know whether it dropped from a higher value or not. Has yours been stabilized now?

That's affirmative; ours has stabilized now. It was reading full just a few minutes ago.

Roger. I don't think—we can't account for any sudden drop in water.

Okay. We looked in the malfunction procedures, and number 28 doesn't reveal anything very startling.

Houston, Apollo 8. Over.

Go ahead, 8.

Okay. I'm looking at malfunction 28, and it takes you to box 6, but I don't really think that's the problem because the waste tank quantity hasn't changed any. Over.

Okay. I concur. We're watching the same thing.

Look, we don't care about the potable tank, but we do about the waste tank, so just in case there is a problem somewhere, I'm going to shut the potable tank off and leave the waste tank inlet valve open. How does that sound to you?

Stand by. Okay, 8. We concur.