Show Around ground The Moon 1 The superlative achievement of Americas America's successful Apollo 8 flight is certain to remain forever as one of mankind's milestones of progress THE SUCCESSFUL flight means men perhaps Russian as well as American will almost certainly land on the moon in in the 1969 goal set years ago by the the- late President President President dent John F. F Kennedy But the major significance as history history history his his- tory will record it- it of the Apollo 8 flight is that manfor man manfor manfor for the first time has broken the shackles which have bound him to earth and thus the age of exploration of other celestial bodies is is at hand There were several dramatic dramatic dra dra- dramatic matic moments during the Apollo 8 mission The first was as always blast The second was when the spacecraft spacecraft spacecraft space space- craft succeeded in setting a correct course for the moon THE NEXT was ultra ultra- dramatic for it was new to man At am a.m. December December December De De- cember the three astronauts astronauts astronauts as as- as- as Col Frank Borman Borman Bor- Bor man man Capt James Lovell and Maj William Anders fired their main rocket to bring them into orbit around the moon They were behind the moon and at Houston and across the nation and world there was some twenty minutes ol of suspense as the big rocket rockel slowed the spacecraft from something over mph to something over anc and slanted it downward into an orbit around the moon FINALLY the voice of Anders ended the suspense Go ahead Houston Apollo 8 Burn Complete Our orbit is 1691 by That message message message mes mes- sage produced jubilation at Houston and sent a thrill throughout the world The next dramatic moment came on Christmas morning when the astronauts fired their rocket again to thrust themselves themselves themselves them them- selves out of lunar orbit after ten orbits and on a homeward homeward homeward home home- ward course for the earth This was also critical THE IMPORTANCE of Apollo achievement can scarcely be over And Americans can take justified pride in the fact that their countrymen have become the first ever to orbit orbit orbit or or- bit another celestial body in effect paving the way for forman's formans formans forman's formans forman's mans man's exploration of outer space by rocket vehicles |