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Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins has made the case that Apollo 8, the first mission to venture outward from low Earth orbit, deserves a place in this pantheo
by bryananderson 6y ago
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins has made the case that Apollo 8, the first mission to venture outward from low Earth orbit, deserves a place in this pantheon and is arguably more epochal than Apollo 11. It is a question of which is more significant: venturing outward for the first time, or arriving somewhere for the first time. Collins has said that, as time passes, that first tentative outward journey feels more significant to him on the grand timeline of human history than the first step on the Moon.
- avmich 6y agoApollo 8 technically is significantly simpler than Apollo 11. Many Apollo 8 results could perhaps be achieved by USSR with two launches of Proton. They can argue if that high orbit - 400,000 km apogee - and entering Moon orbit is that much of a qualitative step. In a sense, getting to orbit is already venturing outward, and Apollo 8 is venturing somewhat furter - not clear to me how much is it of a difference.
- bryananderson 6y agoCertainly Apollo 11 is far more technically audacious than Apollo 8, and the Soviets really did get quite close to a slightly simpler version of Apollo 8 (and could have pulled it off given enough time and effort--whereas landing on the moon was beyond their reach without much more funding to integrate and test N-1 properly). Collins is speaking more of the historical and philosophical significance of stepping away from the shores of our lonesome island.