December 21, 1968: Apollo 8 Changes Everything

On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 launches with help from a Saturn V booster from the Kennedy Space Center. Apollo 8 carries three astronauts: Frank Borman, James A. Lovell Jr., and William A. Anders. The flight, originally only a test of Apollo hardware, is upgraded to a circumlunar flight, orbiting the moon. Most famously, the flight sends back photos of Earth from space, wowing the world and doing much to convince an embattled American public — entrenched in Vietnam and the civil rights movement — about the value of the space program.

Credit: NASA