50th anniversary - Apollo 8.

[Marc]

December 21st will mark 50 years since the one of the most important events in spaceflight history - the launch of Apollo 8, the first manned mission to orbit the moon.

It later came out that NASA gave the mission a 50/50 chance of suceeding, the crew felt it was 1 in 3.

After a successful mission, Apollo's 9 and 10 further tested equipment needed for the lunar landing which would occur 7 months after the Apollo 8 flight.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12...he-moon-insiders-reflect-50-years-on/10135856

 

[Santaman]

Was quite a complex mission for that time.

 

[diankra]

December 21st will mark 50 years since the one of the most important events in spaceflight history - the launch of Apollo 8, the first manned mission to orbit the moon.

It later came out that NASA gave the mission a 50/50 chance of suceeding, the crew felt it was 1 in 3.

After a successful mission, Apollo's 9 and 10 further tested equipment needed for the lunar landing which would occur 7 months after the Apollo 8 flight.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12...he-moon-insiders-reflect-50-years-on/10135856

Success and survival were different things. Hence varying estimates. And obviously once they'd fired the SPS to enter lunar orbit, they became the same. But prior to that there were several ways to come home safe while failing the mission (which Borman would probably have hated more than dying).