Apollo 8

Also known as Apollo VIII

second crewed flight of the United States Apollo program

AI overview

Apollo 8 was the second crewed mission of the U.S. Apollo program, launched in December 1968. It was historically significant as the first crewed spacecraft to travel to the Moon and orbit it, with astronauts aboard witnessing and photographing Earth from lunar orbit for the first time.

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Wikidata facts

Official name: Apollo 8
Duration: 529242
Mass: 28870
Orbital period: 88.19
Image: NASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise.jpg

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Commons category: Apollo 8
UTC date of spacecraft launch: 1968-12-21
Commons gallery: Apollo 8
UTC date of spacecraft landing: 1968-12-27
orbital inclination: 12
orbits completed: 10

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Article

Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth's gravitational sphere of influence, and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing and then returned to Earth. The three astronauts—Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders—were the first humans to see and photograph the far side of the Moon and an Earthrise.

Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968, and was the second crewed spaceflight mission flown in the United States Apollo space program (the first, Apollo 7, stayed in Earth orbit). Apollo 8 was the third flight and the first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket. It was the first human spaceflight from the Kennedy Space Center, adjacent to Cape Kennedy Air Force Station in Florida.