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Mission record

Apollo 8

Also known as PL-684M

NASA · Launched

Explore trajectory

Completed · Success

First Apollo spacecraft to successfully orbit the Moon and the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth's gravity, carrying Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr. and William A. Anders through ten lunar orbits, six live television transmissions and a Pacific Ocean splashdown.

Destinations
Moon
Launch vehicle
Saturn 5
Launch site
Cape Canaveral, United States
Countries
United States
Mission types
Orbiter, Crewed

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    Apollo 8 launched into a 190.6 km x 183.2 km Earth parking orbit

    Earth

  2. Orbit insertion

    Apollo 8 entered an elliptical 310.6 km by 111.2 km lunar orbit

    Moon

  3. Departure

    Transearth injection burn after a total of 10 lunar orbits

    Moon

  4. Landing

    Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean

    Earth

Mission architecture

Vehicles

  • Apollo 8 · Spacecraft

    Destinations: Moon

Trajectory record

Trajectory dataset not yet available

No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through August 24, 2026