Apollo 8

Oh, yeah, and that sleeping dream I had recently.

Whenever was the last time I was asleep.

Wasn't that long ago.

I mean, I don't go for days without sleep.

Sometimes I might go for just about 24 hours without sleep.

I'm currently testing a solar-powered lamp and that solar-powered lamp had remained illuminated now without recharging for about 34 hours so I know I've slept since then.

I'll probably write about that lamp sometime later because it's so cool and I've been interested in solar power since a kid.

Anyway,

Anyway, what? I forgot what else I was going to write here. I just wanted to make a note about Apollo 8 because I had started it a few hours ago.

Oh, yeah, The sleeping dream. Now I can't remember.

You know, this reminds me of recently going back through my blog and gaining a renewed sense of just how pointless it is. I mean, I recall the hours I spend sitting at my desk, that once was a hell of a lot more comfortable than this really painful setup I have now, because I live in a very frustrating environment, and I think about just how pointless is all this work.

Oh, right. I rarely proofread my posts until after the initial post and now I remember. The "cone". That was part of a sleeping dream recently. I was thinking about how I just did not really give a good goddamn about going into detail about it here. There was some kind of force that left an imprint that was destructive and to make a long story short because I don't goddamn care about explaining it to you I thought extensively about how the intricate patterns I was seeing in that sleeping dream could be considered a recurring theme to my sleeping dreams. My recent Fire Tablet tinkling makes me wonder more.










https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_8


Apollo 8

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Apollo 8, the second human spaceflight mission in the United States Apollo space program, was launched on December 21, 1968, and became the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth orbit, reach the Earth's Moon, orbit it and return safely to Earth. The three-astronaut crew — Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders — became the first humans to travel beyond low Earth orbit, the first to see Earth as a whole planet, the first to directly see the far side of the Moon, and then the first to witness Earthrise.


Lunar trajectory

Jim Lovell's main job as Command Module Pilot was as navigator. Although Mission Control performed all the actual navigation calculations, it was necessary to have a crew member serving as navigator so that the crew could successfully return to Earth in case of communication loss with Mission Control. Lovell navigated by star sightings using a sextant built into the spacecraft, measuring the angle between a star and the Earth's (or the Moon's) horizon. This task proved to be difficult, as a large cloud of debris around the spacecraft formed by the venting S-IVB made it hard to distinguish the stars.

By seven hours into the mission, the crew was about one hour and 40 minutes behind flight plan due to the issues of moving away from the S-IVB and Lovell's obscured star sightings. The crew now placed the spacecraft into Passive Thermal Control (PTC), also known as "barbecue" roll. PTC involved the spacecraft rotating about once per hour along its long axis to ensure even heat distribution across the surface of the spacecraft. In direct sunlight, the spacecraft could be heated to over 200 °C (392 °F) while the parts in shadow would be -100 °C (-148 °F). These temperatures could cause the heat shield to crack or propellant lines to burst. As it was impossible to get a perfect roll, the spacecraft actually swept out a cone as it rotated. The crew had to make minor adjustments every half-hour as the cone pattern got larger and larger.


Earthrise


Borman finished the broadcast by wishing a Merry Christmas to everyone on Earth. His message appeared to sum up the feelings that all three crewmen had from their vantage point in lunar orbit. Borman said, "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you—all of you on the good Earth."

The only task left for the crew at this point was to perform the Trans-Earth Injection (TEI), which was scheduled for 2½ hours after the end of the television transmission. The TEI was the most critical burn of the flight, as any failure of the SPS to ignite would strand the crew in lunar orbit, with little hope of escape. As with the previous burn, the crew had to perform the maneuver above the far side of the Moon, out of contact with Earth.

The burn occurred exactly on time. The spacecraft telemetry was reacquired as it re-emerged from behind the Moon at 89 hours, 28 minutes, and 39 seconds, the exact time calculated. When voice contact was regained, Lovell announced, "Please be informed, there is a Santa Claus", to which Ken Mattingly, the current CAPCOM, replied, "That's affirmative, you are the best ones to know." The spacecraft began its journey back to Earth on December 25, Christmas Day.



- posted by H.V.O.M - Kerry Wayne Burgess 06:49 AM Pacific Time Spokane Valley Washington USA Saturday 25 June 2016