Apollo+40: The first LOI

Apollo 8 is out of touch on the far side of the Moon, and if everything is going according to plan, the Service Propulsion System engine is burning to slow Apollo 8 so it can be captured by the Moon's gravity and into Lunar orbit. Assuming a good burn, Mission Control expects to regain contact with the spacecraft at 69:31:00 MET, about 23 minutes from now.

Apollo+40: Loss of Signal

From the Ground-to-Air Communications:

CAPCOM: Apollo 8, Houston. 1 minute until LOS. All systems go. Roger, safe journey, guys.

Apollo 8: Thanks a lot, troops. We'll see you on the other side.

CAPCOM: Apollo 8, 10 seconds to GO. You're GO all the way.

Apollo 8: Roger.


At 69:01:00 MET, about 04:52 EST, Apollo 8 passed behind the Moon and out of touch of Earth. Mankind would have to wait to find out whether Apollo 8 was able to enter Lunar orbit or would be coming home on a free-return trajectory.

About seven minutes to LOI.

Apollo+40: Go for Lunar Orbit

At 68:04:00 MET, Mission Control has just notified Apollo 8 that they are GO for their Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) burn, to take place behind the Moon and out of touch with Mission Control in a little more than one hour.

Less than an hour now until Apollo 8 passes behind the Moon, and out of communication.

Apollo+40: In transit

Forty years ago, the crew of Apollo 8 were progressing towards their date with the Moon. The Earth-Moon transit wasn't without concern though. Frank Borman, Apollo 8's commander, suffered the first American case of what is known today as Space Adaptation Syndrome, e.g. motion sickness. Borman recovered, and the mission progressed as planned.

Apollo 8 would be executing their 2nd mid-course correction tonight at 20:50 EST - 60:59:56 Mission Elapsed Time (MET).

The mid-course correction would be used to direct Apollo 8 to the point in space where they would pass behind the Moon, and enter Lunar orbit on Christmas Eve.

Apollo+40: Where No Man Has Gone Before

At 2:50:37 MET (Misson Elapsed Time) - 10:41 AM EST - Apollo 8 became unlike the any previous voyage in Human history. The third stage of Saturn V booster 503 was relit. This is known as Translunar Injection (TLI), and sent Borman, Lovell, and Anders on their way to the Moon.

Fellow Astronaut Michael Collins, originally to have been an Apollo 8 crewmember but who was replaced by Jim Lovell due to a back injury, acted as one of the spacecraft communicators in Mission Control for Apollo 8. Collins' first stint for the flight was for the launch and TLI phases. In Collins' wonderful memoir, Carrying the Fire, he recounts the moment (pages 305-306, emphasis mine):

The next big event was reigniting the third-stage Saturn V engine to set
sail for the moon. Known as TLI (translunar injection), this burn had to
take place precisely at 10:40 Eastern Standard Time [NASA mission reports
indicate 10:41], which meant that before then the crew had to check everything
on a long list of equipment, each item of which had been deemed vital to making
the trip. If something was broken, we should know about it now, not after TLI,
when trajectories become very complicated. Fortunately, the checks went
smoothly, and spacecraft 103, Dave Scott's pampered baby, seemed to be purring
along flawlessly. Now the big moment came. As we counted down to
S-IVB ignition for TLI, a hush fell over Mission Control. TLI was what
made this flight different from the six Mercury, ten Gemini, and one Apollo
flighs that had preceded it, different from any trip man had ever made in any
vehicle. For the first time in history, man was going to propel himself past escape velocity, breaking the clutch of our earth's gravitational field and coasting into outer space as he had never done before. After TLI there would be three men in the solar system who would have to be counted apart from all the other billions, three who were in a different place, whose motion obeyed different rules, and whose habitat had to be considered a separate planet. The three could examine the earth and the earth could examine them, and each would see the other for the first time. This the people in Mission Control knew; yet there were no immortal words on the wall proclaiming the fact, only a thin green line, representing Apollo 8 climbing, speeding, vanishing - leaving us stranded behind on this planet, awed by the fact that we humans had finally had an option to stay or leave -

and had chosen to leave.

TLI completed successfully just over five minutes later. Godspeed Apollo 8!

Apollo+40: Man's First Voyage to the Moon Begins!

At 7:51 AM EsT on December 21, 1968 the human race began its first voyage to the Moon. American Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders had earlier boarded Apollo Spacecraft CSM-103 atop Saturn V booster 503. After a normal orbital insertion, Apollo 8 awaited the moment that would make this voyage different from any undertaken by man: Trans-Lunar Injection.

TFH 12/4: First to Jupiter!

Thirty-five years ago today, NASA's Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter and photograph the planet up close! Pioneer 10 and its brother Pioneer 11 paved the way for the follow-on explorations of the outer solar system by Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Galileo, Cassini, and New Horizons.

December 3, 1973 was a finest hour for NASA and our great, space-faring Nation!

More information:
NASA
Encyclopedia Astronautica
Wikipedia

Who put Chambliss convincingly over the top?

Saxby Chambliss would probably have won the run-off on his own, but he gives credit where credit's due for his overwhelming victory. Guess who?

Thank you, Georgia

Saxby Chambliss of Georgia decisively crushed his Democratic opponent in yesterday's run-off to hold onto his Senate seat, and deny - at least in numbers - the Democrats a filibuster-proof majority.

In some instances now, we'll have another line of defense besides Justices John, Antonin, Clarence, Samuel, and Anthony as the Left tries to completely deconstruct American society and trample the Constitution.

Far, far too many RINOs in the Senate though - filibusters won't always be able to be sustained. Coleman is still ahead in the MN recount; here's to hoping it stays that way.

Who cares about the Constitution?

Pittsburgh's city council apparently does not. The council has preliminarily passed an ordinance requiring gun owners to report the theft of their weapons within 72 hours or face fines or imprisonment!

When asked for a reaction to this ridiculous measure potentially being at odds with Pennsylvania law, the Pennsylvania Constitution, and the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution, Councilwoman Tonya Payne of District 6 actually said:

"Who really cares about it being unconstitutional?"

Not only does this measure need to be defeated or vetoed, Ms. Payne needs to be removed from office.

Mark the Date

Why? Because I'm going to say that President-elect Barack Obama has done the right thing. What did he do? Decide to keep Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in his post.

A quick survey of lefty blogs indicates that the Obamatons are not pleased. Good.

TFH 11/21: The Dawn of the Net

You're reading this blog because of the United States Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). On this day in 1969, the forerunner of today's Internet - ARPAnet - went live.

Whenever somebody says that defense spending is nothing but weapons, remember that DoD invented the Internet (sorry, Al Gore, it wasn't you) and then gave it away for all mankind.

Apollo+40: To the Moon!

The big newspaper story for November 13, 1968 was NASA's announcement the previous day (yes, I missed the actual day) that Apollo 8 - with Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot Bill Anders - would fly to the Moon in December!

This decision had been made previously but was not announced publicly until all of the data from the Saturn V test flights and the successful Apollo 7 mission in October could be reviewed. Final approval for the world's first manned lunar mission was given by NASA administrator Thomas Paine on November 11, 1968.

Apollo 8, targeted for launch on December 21, 1968, would truly go where no man had gone before!

Source: Encyclopedia Astronautica

Well, at least Hitler was anti-smoking!

Wikipedia reaches the heights of ridiculousness with today's "featured article", Anti-tobacco movement in Nazi Germany.

At least the article manages to tell the truth to somewhat blunt the otherwise assumed benefits of such a crusade:

Apart from public health concerns, the Nazis were heavily influenced by
ideology; specifically, the movement was influenced by concepts of racial
hygiene and bodily purity. Nazi leaders believed that it was wrong for the
master race to smoke and that tobacco consumption was equal to "racial
degeneracy". The Nazis viewed tobacco as a "genetic poison". Racial hygienists
opposed tobacco use, fearing that it would "corrupt" the "German germ plasm".
Nazi anti-tobacco activists often tried to depict tobacco as a "vice" of the
"degenerate" Africans.

The Nazis claimed that the Jews were responsible for introducing tobacco and its harmful effects. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany announced that smoking was an unhealthy vice spread by the Jews. Johann von Leers, editor of the Nordische Welt (Nordic World), during the opening ceremony of the Wissenschaftliches Institut zur Erforschung der Tabakgefahren in 1941, proclaimed that "Jewish capitalism" was responsible for the spread of tobacco use across Europe. He said that the first tobacco on German soil was brought by the Jews and that they controlled the tobacco industry in Amsterdam, the principal European entry point of Nicotiana.

What a surprise that the Nazis blamed the Jews! I'm shocked! That anybody can cite anything that Nazi Germany perpertrated as a heralded "first" in society is simply deranged.

Thanks to all veterans!

Their Finest Hour extends our sincere gratitude to all Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen past who sacrificed their youth, their strength, and in many cases their bodies or lives to preserve our Nation!

Happy Birthday USMC!

For 233 years, America's Marines:





From the halls of Montezuma,
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.

Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From the dawn to setting sun
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun
In the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve
In many a strife we've fought for life
And have never lost our nerve
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes
They will find the streets are guarded by
The United States Marines.

Thanks to all members of the United States Marine Corps, past and present, for their courage, service, and sacrifices in defense of our great Nation!

The Fallacy of the Middle of the Road

Ann Althouse hits the nail on the head. This is a great analysis from the mind on one voter that sums up exactly why John McCain's strategy of playing to the middle lost him the election.

Oh, whatever will become of the Obamatons?

Speaks for itself...thanks to The Onion

In Memoriam: Marty Kenney

If you've ever listened to the Sean Hannity Show, you've heard the caller "Marty". This WWII and D-Day veteran passed away this week. Be sure to check out the tribute on Sean's site, and make sure you listen to the audio too!

His obituary can be found here. May God bring comfort to the family's grief.

Martin E. Kenney, Sr. - you were a great American!

Welcome back, Bishop Bob

The Right Reverend Robert William Duncan has been elected as the 8th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh (Southern Cone) by today's special Diocesan Convention, having been previously deposed as the 7th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh (Episcopal Church USA) by the forces of revisionism.

Welcome back! As ever, you and Nara are in my prayers!