Read Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8 Online

Authors: Robert Zimmerman

Tags: #History, #United States, #20th Century, #test

Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8 (65 page)

 

Page 276
5. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/1997/com.html
6.
Space News,
5/1824/98, 3
7.
Space News,
2/28/98, 11; 3/2329/98, 16; 5/2531/98, 6
8.
Space News,
3/23/29/98, 16
9.
Space News,
3/2329/98, 1
10.
New York Times,
2/8/94, D1; 9/9/94, A7; 9/11/94, IV-2; 11/28/94, D3; 12/18/94, V-3; 2/5/95, VI-45; 7/3/95, A4
11. Reagan, 335
12. Harwood, CBS News webpage:
ftp://uttm.com/pub/space/STS-86_Archive.txt
13. U.P.I., 9/30/97.
14. http://www.spacedev.com
15. Posted in sci.space.policy 10/9/97.

 

Page 277
Editorial Minutiae and Glossary
Acronyms:
Acronyms have been printed in two ways so that the reader will know how to pronounce them. If the custom is to take the letters and pronounce them as a word (as in NASA), the word is shown with no periods. If the custom was to say the letters, one at a time (as in F.A.A.), periods are inserted.
Names:
I have generally used the names commonly employed at the time. For example, the Johnson Space Center in Houston was still called the Manned Spacecraft Center in 1968, and so that is the name used in this history. The same applies to Cape Canaveral, which from 1963 to 1973 was renamed Cape Kennedy in memory of John Kennedy.
Time:
For all events relating to the flight of Apollo 8 I have adopted Central Standard Time, or Houston time. This was the schedule that the astronauts, their families, and mission control lived by and how they experienced the mission. It is also a rough approximation of the day and night schedule for the rest of the country.
Quotes:
There is no made-up dialogue in this book. In all cases I have either used the exact words as told to me by witnesses or have quoted directly from transcripts. Any changes in dialogue for grammatical reasons is indicated by the use of brackets or ellipses. Similarly, my descriptions of certain individuals' personal thoughts is based entirely on what they themselves remembered thinking.

 

Page 278
Distance:
the space program used nautical miles. I have converted these to statute miles, the measure used by the American public.
Saturn 5:
While the roman numeral has traditionally been used, I have used Saturn 5 for clarity.
Glossary of Unusual Terms
T.L.I. (Trans-Lunar Injection):
The engine burn that lifted the spacecraft out of earth orbit and on its way to the moon. Took place on Saturday morning at 9:40 AM (C.S.T.).
L.O.I. (Lunar Orbit Insertion):
The engine burn that put the spacecraft into lunar orbit. Took place Tuesday morning at 4 AM (C.S.T.).
T.E.I. (Trans-Earth Injection):
The engine burn that pushed the spacecraft out of lunar orbit and sent it back to the earth. Took place on Thursday morning, ten minutes after midnight.
S.P.S. (Service Propulsion System):
The main engine in the service module, used to place the spacecraft in lunar orbit at L.O.I. as well as push it out of lunar orbit at T.E.I. This rocket engine was the only means for the astronauts to leave lunar orbit, and if it failed the men would not be able to return to earth.
Capcom:
Shorthand term for CAPsule COMmunications, the individual assigned to handle all ground-to-capsule communications with the astronauts. On Apollo 8 the three capcoms were astronauts Mike Collins, Jerry Carr, and Ken Mattingly.
Command module:
The cone-shaped capsule which contained the astronauts' living quarters. This was the only part of the entire rocket that returned to earth.

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