posted 11-07-2008 01:12 PM               

Newseum Commemorates 40th Anniversary of Apollo 8 Mission

Date: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008
Location: Knight TV Studio, Level 3, 1:30 p.m.

Dec. 21-27, 1968, marked another unbelievable first for NASA. Apollo 8 crew members Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders became the first men to circle the moon. On Christmas Eve, the crew's reading from the book of Genesis was broadcast live on the networks. At the time, the broadcast was the most-watched program in television history.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, the Newseum will host a special program featuring the historic team of Borman, Lovell and Anders. The astronauts will discuss their epic voyage in a panel discussion hosted by veteran journalist Nick Clooney.

The event coincides with the premiere screening of the Newseum's new 8-minute NASA documentary in the Robert H. and Clarice Smith Big Screen Theater.

posted 11-07-2008 02:19 PM               

Apollo 8 Crew Remembers Historic Mission Live On NASA TV

Almost 40 years after NASA executed the bold decision to send the first human flight of the gigantic Saturn V rocket to the moon, the crew of Apollo 8 will reunite as part of a special public program produced in cooperation with the Newseum in Washington.

The program features Apollo 8 crew members Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders. It will be broadcast live from the Newseum on NASA Television and www.nasa.gov on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 1:30 p.m. EST. The Newseum is located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

The event is part of the Newseum's commemoration of NASA's 50th anniversary and is open to visitors. Seating in the Newseum's Knight TV Studio is limited and seats will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional overflow seating will be available throughout the Newseum.

During the 60-minute program, astronauts Borman, Lovell and Anders will discuss the epic December 1968 lunar orbital mission and how the success of Apollo 8 contributed to the overall moon landing effort that culminated just six months later with Apollo 11. The crew also will discuss the years following Apollo and the future of space exploration.

The program will be moderated by Nick Clooney, the Newseum's distinguished journalist in residence.

posted 11-11-2008 04:23 PM            

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Originally posted by jamato99:
What are the chances they'll have a meet & greet or sign anything before or after the lecture?

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posted 11-11-2008 05:35 PM               

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Kind Regards

Douglas Henry

posted 11-13-2008 10:31 PM               

Borman, Lovell, and Anders took turns razzing each other and telling their stories of their mission. Anders, the one that most of us old timers know the least well on the crew, was a real pleasant surprise - very witty and articulate. The three men obviously were having a good time being with each other again.

I don't think I had ever heard an Apollo astronaut say this so bluntly before, but Borman said that make no mistake about it, Apollo was not about lunar science, it was just another weapon in fighting the Cold War. When asked about why they chose the passage from Genesis for the Christmas Eve broadcast, he said he was given free reign by management to "choose something suitable." He felt that this freedom to choose a message that would be heard by 1/4 of the Earth's population was truly symbolic of America.

All three men spoke lovingly of their wives, and noted that they are the only Apollo crew that are all still married to their wives from the 1960s.

For those of you who were not able to hear the NASA-TV broadcast of this event, I put up a few video clips, links below.

• Launch
  
• Earthrise
  
• Why we succeeded

posted 11-13-2008 11:25 PM               

They pack alot of folks into these events, and I understand that overflow went to the Milestones gallery then up to the planetarium. I don't know if the guys made an appearance for the overflow section prior to the talk, but they did pipe in questions to the theater from the gallery, which was a nice gesture, I thought.

Several of us recognized Joe Allen in the crowd watching the presentation.

Two items of interest that I heard in the theater...one museum employee told us that the museum is efforting to digitize all of their past lectures and make them available to the public in some format. I look forward to that.

Secondly, I thanked Gen. Daley for a nice evening and a fine job, and he replied, "Glad you liked it...next year we'll have the Apollo 11 crew here."

posted 11-14-2008 12:04 AM               

I thank Boeing for sponsoring this event but how many theater tickets did they receive in return? (I sometimes get in trouble for thinking out loud.)

Good to see my collectSPACE friends DJ, Woody, Dwayne, Mike, and Pol.

How fortunate we are to have this national treasure (NASM) and men and women of history to share their experiences.

posted 11-14-2008 11:27 AM               

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Originally posted by ilbasso:
Had a FABULOUS time at the NASM event this evening! I got there very early and was blessed with a seat in the third row, center.

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posted 11-14-2008 11:53 AM               

The evening lecture was even better than the one at the Newseum. All three guys were in great spirits and it was fascinating to hear their first-hand recollections of the mission. We were among the first to get in the theater and got second-row seats right in front of the crew.

posted 11-14-2008 12:26 PM               

I didn't have a chance to get there, but it was good to hear of your first hand accounts. Apollo 8 has got to be one of the all time classic flights. It ranks right up with Apollo 11. Mike Collins has said several times that he would have switched places and flown on Apollo 8, I would too.

posted 11-14-2008 12:40 PM               

My wife and I were treated to a fantastic evening of beautiful memories by the crew of one of NASA's most historic missions.

Pardon the pun, but these guys are truly "down to earth". I was amazed by their true candor.

While they didn't have time to sign autographs, sitting in the first row behind the crew I was able to shake hands with and thank CDR Borman and LMP Anders following the presentation.

posted 11-14-2008 12:42 PM               

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Originally posted by thump:
Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe was also in attendance...

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posted 11-14-2008 05:54 PM               

Good to see other cSers there.

At least, all four came to the Milestones gallery to greet everyone before they went in begin.

Apollo 11 crew next year will probably go in 3 seconds.

Wonder if we can prefill out the form, and just click send! Maybe we should SNIPE for NASM tickets, Hmmmmm.

By the way, last weekend I attended the AHOF weekend show, and did get to sit next to Jim Lovell for dinner. The other Dave Scott (not the astronaut) was also at our table).

Hint, if you every go to KSC for AHOF function, get the Platium tickets. They are worth every penny, and it is for the AHOF scholarship fund.

The evening sitting next to Jim Lovell, priceless!!!!

posted 11-14-2008 07:55 PM               

It was great finally meeting you at ASF. Funny that we had to meet at the other end of the country when we both live in San Diego.

Just ordered my ticket for the 40th anniversary. It's going to be a great evening and to top it off, Neil Armstrong will be there. Hopefully I will have a chance to finally see the Star Trek exhibit before the festivities.

posted 11-15-2008 06:45 AM               

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Originally posted by andrewcli:
It's going to be a great evening and to top it off, Neil Armstrong will be there.

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posted 11-15-2008 10:44 AM               

40th Anniversary of Apollo 8 Intimate Dinner and Moderated Forum

"Special guests include Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin and Apollo 7 Astronaut Walter Cunningham."

I believe that Mr. Armstrong was recently in Houston to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 7.

posted 11-17-2008 05:30 PM               

Would anyone here know the last time all crew members of Apollo 9, 10, 11, and 16 got together in public?

posted 11-20-2008 01:33 AM               

I found it a true honor seeing the crew of Apollo 8 and John Glenn in person. I was so lucky to get into the 4th row near center. Seeing John Glenn walk out was truly exciting. He looked great, much better than he does on TV and in photos. Then seeing the Apollo 8 crew walk out was unbelievable. They all still look and speak so well and remember the mission as if it happened yesterday!! Although I knew many of the stories, seeing and hearing them told in person was truly exciting!! I didn't know that there were sharks around the spacecraft after they splashed down. Also seeing their comradery after all these years was really amazing!!

At the end of their talk I felt that we are SO SO LUCKY to still have these four Astronauts along with the other Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Astronauts who are still with us. Also how lucky we, who were born early enough to witness the dawn of the space age are. Even if man goes to mars, there will never be a time again like the time when humans first left the earth to go to and land on the moon. I don't want to take anything away from the Astronauts of today who are doing wonderful things on Space Shuttle and Space Station.

One final remark, I met Sean O'Keefe after the event and he was very personable.

posted 12-08-2008 09:01 AM               

Colonel Frank Borman (USAF, retired) and Major General Bill Anders (USAF, retired) will help get the 2008 ICAS Convention off to a memorable start on the morning of December 9 when they give us a behind-the-scenes look at their historic Apollo 8 mission to the moon and back in December of 1968. Moderated by [former] CNN anchor/reporter Miles O'Brien, our opening session is -- all by itself -- reason enough to make plans now to join us in Las Vegas.

posted 12-09-2008 10:37 AM               

No criticism was intended. Your calendar & listings are great. I wish I could attend everything, but time, money & other commitments interfere. Keep up the good work.

posted 12-10-2008 04:25 PM               

Explorer Lecture: Maj. Gen. Bill Anders
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2 p.m. in the William M. Allen Theater

An extra holiday treat -- Apollo 8 Astronaut Maj. Gen. Bill Anders will give a presentation at the Museum at 2 p.m. on Dec. 20! Apollo 8 was the first crew to leave Earth's orbit. This year is the 40th anniversary of this historic accomplishment. More details on his presentation will follow.

posted 12-11-2008 06:02 PM            

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Originally posted by FFrench:
40th Anniversary of Apollo 8 Intimate Dinner and Moderated Forum

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The Apollo 8 crew do national TV interviews.

In front of the Apollo 9 Command Module. Left to Right: Cernan, Bean, Gerry Griffin, Anders, Armstrong, Borman, Cunningham, Lovell, Glynn Lunney.

posted 12-11-2008 06:15 PM               

As a native San Diegan, and a space buff, I really wish I was able to be there, but my Air Force duties just wouldn't permit it.

posted 12-11-2008 06:50 PM               

Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 8
December 20, 2008 - January 4, 2009

First 50 visitors on Saturday, December 20 receive a FREE replica Apollo 8 mission patch!*

The Adler is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission with a two-week celebration of space exploration. Come on down to the Adler to join in the fun.

What you can see and do at the Adler during the Adler's Apollo 8 Celebration:

• View Apollo 8 artifacts including the original flight manual, the historic live Christmas Eve broadcast with footage and Capt. James A. Lovell's flight suit.

• Explore the Shoot for the Moon exhibition and fun interactive activities:
  • Feel what it's like to jump on the Moon on the Lunar Leap
    
  • Find out the dangers of living on the Moon in the Lunar Dangers Lab
    
  • Try to land a lunar module on the Moon in Touch Down
    
  • Discover how we'll get back to the Moon and more!

• See the 3-D Fly Me to the Moon space show

• Travel to the Moon with Elmo in the One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure planetarium show

• Enjoy special Moon-themed activities and images in the Space Visualization Laboratory (SVL).

In addition to featured exhibitions and space shows, visitors can participate in the following:

• Enter-to-win a one year family membership and enjoy the thrill of space exploration all year long!

• Enjoy lunar lunch specials and Moon treats in Galileo's Café

• Visit the Infinity Shop to find great toys, books, games, apparel, telescopes and lots of other items to help you explore space at home.

*With paid museum admission

posted 12-11-2008 07:17 PM            

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Originally posted by SpaceSteve:
Thank you for posting those pictures Francis

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