NASA APOLLO 8 MISSION Pre-FLIGHT NEWS RELEASE FILM 63204 (1958)

Synopsis

This news release on NASA’s Apollo 8 mission at the end of 1968 gives viewers a glimpse of the men and objectives of the mission. Apollo 8 was the second manned spaceflight, with a three-man crew consisting of Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders. The men were the first to leave low Earth orbit and the first to orbit the moon. The news release opens with the three astronauts standing in their spacesuits prior to launch. Saturn V stands ready to launch at the Kennedy Space Center (01:08). Viewers see the rocket engines being fired during what appears to be a testing phase, as well as the Apollo 8 spacecraft being tested by NASA engineers. There are shots of the lunar surface (02:37), and the Apollo 8 crew look at maps, star charts, and answer questions (03:40). Borman discusses the upcoming mission and his confidence in the booster and vehicle. Graphics are used to show the mission’s flight course; the lunar module breaks away from the main stage vehicle. At a press conference, Lovell and Anders explain what their respective jobs are while orbiting the moon (05:40). Illustrations and animations show the remaining trajectory of the spacecraft, including its landing. A Navy crew recovers a returned spacecraft from the ocean or participates in a recovery training (08:10). Apollo 8, the second manned spaceflight mission in the United States Apollo space program, was launched on December 21, 1968, and became the first…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

8 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage