3. Launch Mechanics, Primitive Technology, and Trans Lunar Injection. Bob Zimmerman discusses how Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968, the first day of its window, following a smooth ride on the powerful Saturn 5 rocket. Engineers had mitigated the "pogo" vibration effects that plagued earlier test flights. After one Earth orbit to verify systems, they performed the Trans Lunar Injection (TLI), firing the upper stage Saturn engines to accelerate toward the moon. This moment marked the first time humans were visibly leaving Earth orbit, an experience Jim Lovell described as the Earth shrinking rapidly, like the exit of a tunnel. The Apollo capsule's onboard computer system was highly primitive, inferior to a simple digital watch calculator. Astronauts had to manually enter long strings of numbers dictated by ground control to execute maneuvers, although Borman maintained the use of a manual override for absolute precision.
1966 APOLLO 1
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