21 December 1968

Saturday

1968-12-21

Events

 * Apollo 8 launches from the Kennedy Space Center. It is second manned spaceflight mission in the United States Apollo space program. It would become the first manned spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit, reach the Moon, orbit it, and return safely to Earth. The three-astronaut crew—Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders—became the first humans to travel beyond low Earth orbit, see Earth as a whole planet, and enter the gravity well of another celestial body. They were also the first humans to see the far side of the Moon.