[Apollo 8] The first launch of humans to another world: the giant...

[Apollo 8] The first launch of humans to another world: the giant 363-foot high Saturn V heading to the Moon with Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders on board. NASA, 21 December 1968. Printed 1968. Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-68–56050]. 20.3×25.4 cm (8×10 in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida).

Apollo 8 marked the extraordinary moment in history when humans truly left their Home Planet for the first time. Trailing an immense column of flame, the mighty Apollo 8 Saturn V speeded out of the atmosphere, next stop the Moon. It was the first manned flight of the Saturn V and first manned flight to the Moon.

[Original NASA caption for the photograph] The Apollo 8 (Spacecraft 103/Saturn 503) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 7:51 a.m. (EST), Dec. 21, 1968. The crew of the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission is astronauts Frank Borman, commander; James A. Lovell Jr., command module pilot; and William A. Anders, lunar module pilot. Apollo 8 is the first manned Saturn V launch. (water in foreground, seagulls).

“The Saturn V was an enormous machine. And the size of the engines?! [...] I think I felt that more going up the morning of the launch. Because it was so quiet, nobody around it. [...] I don’t want to say awe, a combination of admiration_yeah, maybe awe. Wonderment.” Frank Borman (Chaikin, Voices, p. 20).

Condition Report:Small irregularities / abrasions on glossy surface of print visible in a raking light, very minor traces of moisture on verso, otherwise excellent condition.

Category:Photos ▸ Vintage photographs