Apollo 8 was launched from Cape Kennedy, at 7:50 a.m., EST, on December 21, 1968. Two hours 50 minutes later, Apollo 8 left Earth orbit; and astronauts Col. Frank Borman, the commander; Capt. James A. Lovell, Jr., the command module pilot; and Major William A. Anders, the lunar module pilot, were on their way to the Moon.

The Spacecraft was placed in an elliptical (oval) lunar orbit at 69 hours 8 minutes after liftoff. After flying two elliptical orbits of 168.5 by 60 nautical miles with an inclination of 12 degrees to the Equator, the spacecraft was placed in a nearly circular orbit of 59.7 by 60.7 nautical miles in which it remained for eight orbits. Images of the lunar surface were transmitted for live television broadcast on Earth.

(televised image of lunar surface pictured above.)

At 89 hours 19 minutes, Apollo 8 began it's long journey back to the Earth. A nearly flawless mission was completed on the morning of December 27 when splashdown occurred in the Pacific Ocean after a total elapsed time of 147 hours. 

(Command Module recovery pictured below right)

The primary purpose of this mission was to further progress toward the goal of landing men on the Moon by gaining operational experience and testing the Apollo system. However, a great effort was also made to accomplish worthwhile scientific tasks with photography and visual information by the astronauts.

From NASA SP-201, Analysis of Apollo 8 photography and visual observations.