50 years ago, when the Apollo 8 mission started to space, the Apollo program was on the verge of failure.But the success achieved by the mission paved the way for landing on the moon a few months after the return of the Apollo 8 mission, as well as it inflamed the imagination.
On December 21, 1968, and the clock, it indicates 7:50, at the Cape Catural base (which is now called Cape Kennedy) in the state of Florida, the tightening of the Apollo 8 mission crew, Frank Burman, Jim Luville and Bill Anders, linking safety belts to their seatsInside the spacecraft that will carry the Satran 5 missile, the most powerful man -made machine ever.
The crew has no longer waiting for it, after a few moments, about four million liters of fuel will ignite, and according to the BBC channel, which was watching them: "They are sitting on the equivalent of a huge bomb.".
There is no doubt that the concern was everyone, and how not, and I had a few months ago an experiment on the uninhabited Satran 5 missile, and violent vibrations and the impact of the strength of gravity after launching moments were enough to end the lives of anyone on the missile.
Although the missile had occurred since this incident, NASA has warned Burman's wife more than once that her husband's chances of surviving this task does not exceed 50 percent..
The performance of the Saturn 5 missile was not the only concern that worries NASA administration. Rather, the Apollo 8 mission, which would represent a qualitative leap in the human landing race on the surface of the moon, would have done tasks that no mission before before.
It was the first inhabited spacecraft to leave the Earth orbit, and it revolves around the moon and the first that returns to Earth at a speed of 40.000 km/ h.As this mission was a calculated risk to reach the moon, the closest neighbor of the planet, before the Soviet Union.
"It was a bold decision to the maximum degree.No one at NASA at the time was hidden at the time of the danger of sending this mission, and the agency caused widespread criticism, which was the most prominent of the British astronaut, Sir Bernard Loville, who said that the United States had been subjected to life of danger..
However, all these aspirations were not planned from the beginning, as the aim of the Apollo 8 mission was to conduct the first experience of the Apollo lunar unit in the Earth orbit, but the production of lunar unit was not completed on time.In addition, the US Intelligence Agency warned NASA that the Soviets were about to launch their manned mission around the moon.
تخطى البودكاست وواصل القراءةالبودكاستمراهقتي (Morahakaty)Teenage taps, from the presentation of a dignity as a vehicle and prepared by Mays Baqi.
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"Not everyone noticed that the Apollo program was neither an exploratory journey nor a scientific discovery, but it was one of the Cold War battles, and we were only fighters in one of its battles.".
After only four months of intense training, Burman, the former war pilot, says that despite the concerns of his superiors, he did not doubt the slightest doubt that the mission will succeed.
"We had to change the mission plan to implement the landing on the moon before the end of the contract," Burman added..In my opinion, this mission was extremely important, not only for America, but also for all human beings who enjoy freedom in all parts of the earth..
When the engines are operated and the countdown began, the Satran 5 missile rose slowly from the launch platform, then gradually accelerated to go towards the clear Florida sky."I felt that we were swinging at the head of a needle, and the noise was sharp and so strong that we felt that we were under the control of a tremendous force that we went in space, and I did not feel that I was controlling anything.".
He recalls: "At this moment, she breathes with great difficulty, and it is almost impossible to move, and the flatness of the eyeball increases and the field of vision is gradually narrowed until the peripheral vision is lacking.It is a strange feeling..
It was not eight minutes to pass until they became in the Earth or half of the Earth, and after a cycle and a half around the ground they started operating the engine of the third stage of the missile to go towards the moon, and after two days, during which 402 was cut off.000 km, and at 8:55 pm on Christmas, Burman carried out the most important step is to ignite the Apollo service unit engine to push the spacecraft to the orbit of the moon.
"It took about four minutes to operate the service unit engine to slow the launch process enough to reach the orbit of the moon.After we cut about three quarters of the road, we looked down, so if the moon is under us..
The Apollo 8 mission crew was the first human crew to see this distant side of the moon (i.e. the hidden side that is impossible to see from the earth) with their own eyes.
"I don't think that all the books I studied in my life may qualify me to live on the surface of the moon with its harsh nature.The moon's surface is to an extent difficult to believe.I saw its surface full of digging, volcanoes and the remains of its lava.But it was an exciting scene of a different world..
The crew was not only surprised by the moon's view, but after 75 hours and 48 minutes of the start of the mission, Andras hinted from the moon the earth's button as it rises above the horizon, and searched everywhere from a colored movie to capture the wonderful scene.
Burman says: "The contradiction between the gloomy moon and the Bedouin Blue Earth was a brother, and we noticed that the planet Earth was the only crime colored in the entire universe.You can see white clouds and continents with a pink, brown pink color.How lucky we are to live on the back of this planet..
Suddenly, the mission turned from a dangerous test of human technological brilliance and the courage of astronauts, into a spiritual experience that sparked the feelings of the mission crew.While the image of the Earth's appearance was not published until after the Apollo 8 crew returned to Earth, the crew prepared another gift to the inhabitants of the planet to celebrate Christmas in 1968.
"Before the mission started, NASA's public relations official told Burman that they expect to follow the TV broadcast from the moon's orbit on Christmas on the eve of Christmas about a billion people, equivalent to a quarter of the world's population, and this exceeds the number of listeners any other human voice throughout history.He told him to prepare a suitable word to give it to the fans of the followers."
"This is a moment of milestones in the history of any country enjoying democracy.Imagine if the Soviets were our place, we would have talked about the virtue of Lenin and Stalin, but in return we were told to choose a suitable word only..
However, preparing this "appropriate word" was not easy."The three of us tried to help our wives think about anything suitable to throw the followers of the followers, and we did not reach anything," Burman says..
Burman resorted to one of his friends, who in turn used a retired war correspondent called Joe Lighton, and Burman says: “As far as my knowledge, Lighton stayed the entire night as he wrote words on paper and then he soon turns it and throws her on the ground, and when his wife, who previously participated inThe ranks of the French resistance in World War II, I suggested that he start from the beginning..
Upon starting the filming, the spacecraft began approaching the sunrise on the moon on the eve of Christmas (US time), and the mission crew began reading the training travel alternately, and Anders started reading: "In the beginning...And Burman concluded by saying: "We wish you a good night, a happy luck and a happy Eid, and God bless you all, all human beings on the wonderful planet Earth.".
Burman says: "We were convinced at the time that this word is the most appropriate for this occasion to express the awe that possessed me, at least, at least, from the small size of all of our size in relation to the universe..It is impossible for this universe to be its magnitude and the accuracy of the organization that has been created on its own without divine interference..
However, the mission has not yet ended.On Christmas, Burman operated the engine again to leave the moon's orbit.He says: "We carried out the motor ignition process to push the vehicle to the Earth orbit when we were on the distant side of the moon..
The mission's monitoring and control center in the mission did not miss the Christmas gifts to the vehicle on the vehicle, which was a meal of turkey covered with thick brown sauce, and wrapped in a shiny, flammable, shiny gift paper.
Burman says: "Slathon (the head of the crew), surreptitiously in the midst of his luggage three small, strong -acting doses of Al -Brandi's drink, but we did not drink it, I was afraid that I would bear the consequences of any mistake that occurred without knowing..
On December 27, the crew returned to Earth, as the vehicle fell near the target in the Pacific Ocean.It was an ideal end for a successful mission, which proved that space flights to the moon would pay off.
"The Apollo 8 mission has not only achieved historical scientific and engineering achievements, but also contributed to expanding the horizons of human experiences, and influenced our view of the Earth and the place of humans in the universe,".
As for Colonel Burman, who still maintains the spirit of the fighter in the Cold War despite reaching 90 years, he sees that the real achievement of the last missions in which he participated is America's progress on its rival, the Soviet Union in the race towards the moon.
"I don't hide you secretly that I did not care about the legacy of the Apollo 8 mission.After the Apollo 11 mission (in implementing the first human landing on the surface of the moon), I no longer care about the Apollo program, as I participated from the beginning in the program to fight in one of the Cold War battles, and we won..