In 1962, President Kennedy issued both a challenge and a promise that before decade’s end, America would land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth. The goal was to beat the Soviets, a Cold War aim dating back to the Russian launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957. Filmmaker Kirk Wolfinger’s PBS-aired NOVA documentary looks at the Apollo 8 mission, which was overshadowed by the Moon landing less than a year later. Originally intended to be a routine Earth orbit, everything was uprooted in January 1967, when a deadly launch-pad space capsule fire killed three astronauts. The fire was determined to be the result of faulty electrical wiring in a vessel filled with flammable materials, pure oxygen, and featuring an escape hatch that opened inward rather than out. NASA had to quickly redesign the capsule, test new technologies—particularly new computer capabilities—and improve the booster rocket. This high risk mission, headed by former test pilots Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders was tasked with making the December 1968 half-million mile trip to the Moon, circle it 10 times, and then return to Earth. It was a "leap into the unknown," with a good chance that the astronauts could be stranded. NASA officials and the former astronauts recall their first sight of the Moon’s surface, the dangers of flying blind with LOS (loss of signal, cut off from radio contact while behind the Moon), and the navigation skills required to use computers to track and hit a moving target at 17,000 mph. Most memorable is the moment on Christmas Eve when the astronauts read a biblical passage from Genesis, combined with the stunning color views of an earthrise photographed from outer space. With terse "right stuff" comments from all involved, this is an inspiring look at one of America’s most important space missions. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)
Apollo’s Daring Mission
(2018) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0885-6. Volume 34, Issue 4
Apollo’s Daring Mission
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