lovell and bormann had an interesting connection. it is a unique crew, but in part because they had flown together before. jeffrey: that's right. ivok at the gemini spacecraft. seats.asically two coach you are wearing inflatable suits , so your shoulders are touching. the overhead is three inches from your head. they lived in that spacecraft without ever opening the doors for two solid weeks. bormann described it as a fortnight in a men's room. they joked when they came home. they said maybe we will get married. robert: they spent some that >> they spent so much time together. jeffrey: it was a mission nobody wanted. they did it. they performed it brilliantly. work sow cohesion made well. they brought in bill anders, a smart, energetic hotshot in all the right ways. he rounded out that group. >> he didn't get to drive the lunar module like he hoped, but ended up playing a substantial role in where the stories have come today, through his photography. immersed himself in studying the lunar surface. it is probably one of the most famou

lovell and bormann had an interesting connection. it is a unique crew, but in part because they had flown together before. jeffrey: that's right. look at the gemini iv spacecraft. it is basically two coach seats. you are wearing inflatable suits, so your shoulders are touching. the overhead is three inches above your head when the hatch was close. they lived in that spacecraft without ever getting to open the doors for two solid weeks. bormann described it as a fortnight in a men's room. that is how he described it. they joked when they came home. they said maybe we will get married. >> >> they spent so much time together. jeffrey: it was a mission nobody wanted. they did it. they performed it brilliantly. that cohesion what was -- was what made it work so well. they brought in bill anders, a smart, energetic hotshot in all the right ways. he rounded out that group. >> he didn't get to drive like he hoped that he ended up role.g a substantial he immersed himself in studying the lunar surface. we have a photo, one of the most photos -

guest: susan bormann was suffering very badly by the time apollo 8 launched. she wanted to be the one in charge when the inevitable happened. perhaps the most dangerous part of the mission came when the astronauts had to leave lunar orbit and relight their single engine. they had no redundancy. magazine work -- a magazine photographer of susan borman when it is confirmed the spacecraft is on its -- on its way home. go to melvin, joining us from chicago as a look at how the country, including lyndon johnson, watched this live, christmas of 1968. verify.i am calling to you said -- was the recovery ship for the apollo 8. i was on board of the time we did the recovery and it was a that sounds fascinating. host: we are looking at their return and pictures and celebration of what that meant for them. what was going through their minds? guest:untry or what it represend and what it had done and what it had wrist -- risked. we were still in a cold war and this was a battle of ideals. freedom and communism. it was thought that the alive, d in putting together this book

guest: susan bormann was suffering very badly by the time apollo 8 launched. three astronauts lost their lives during a test on the launchpad for apollo one. one of them was the husband of one of susan's closest friends. she watched the devastation that the loss reached on her -- lost wreaked on her children and susan became convinced, not with relative certainty but with 100% certainty that frank was going to die in the line of duty and when the apollo 8 commission was given, she was sure it was going to happen on apollo 8. she had begun drinking a little bit but frank knew nothing about that. susan believed it was her duty to spare her husband any anxiety or problem that might be going on in her life, so frank was oblivious to the suffering that susan was enduring. susan was so convinced that frank was going to perish that while he was in orbit, she began composing his eulogy at her kitchen table because she wanted to be the one in charge when the inevitable happened. perhaps the most dangerous part of the mission came when the astronauts had to leave lunar

. >> this is frank bormann. we have enjoyed the television shows. we invite you to tune in in the future because there will be rendezvous in the earth's orbit. then of course, there will be televisions on the lunar surface itself. until then, apollo 8 is signing off. we will see you back on that good earth very soon. >> roger, frank. adios. walter: this morning, the perfect flight of the remarkable apollo 8 ended in the predawn darkness of the pacific, southwest of hawaii. on target, on schedule. before starting its long descent to splashdown, the cone shaped command module carrying the astronauts had to separate from its service module and successfully penetrate one more barrier -- the earth's own atmosphere. the voice of mission control begins the last chapter of the flight's story. >> the flight director has confirmed separation. separation of the command module and service module. we have been looking at data on the command module alone and all the values look quite good. the total blackout we are predicting this morning is on the order of three

he told bormann, and borman and his crewmates knew immediately, they put in their flight plan, and forgotut it. did not tell anyone at nasa, they did not otherwise her -- their wives or children, they were too busy. and they went back to training. on christmas eve, here is like television broadcast, and nearly 1/3 of the world's population is tuned in, it is spectacular to see the screen flickered life. and you can watch all of this online. it is amazing. the astronauts give you a tour of the moon. the moon is beneath them. it is amazing. here is what we have experienced, and then with a minute or a minute and a have to go, before the signal goes dead, bill anders begins to speak, and everybody at nasa's heart is pounding. the wives' hearts are floundering, they do not know what is coming, with a few minutes to go he had a few , minutes to speak, and he says to the world "in the beginning, god created" -- and immediately, men and women began to sob. bill anderson is reading from the first line of the book of genesis in the bible, a story that speaks to millions of us at once, a story of c

he told bormann, and borman and his crewmates knew immediately, they put in their flight plan, and forgotbout it. did not tell anyone at nasa, they did not otherwise her children, they were too busy. and they went back to training. on christmas eve, here is like television broadcast, and nearly 1/3 of the world's population is tuned in, it is spectacular to see the screen flickered life. and you can watch all of this online. it is amazing. the astronauts give you a tour of the moon. the moon is beneath that. it is amazing. here is what we have experienced, and then with a a haveor a minute and to go, before the signal goes dead, bill anders begins to speak, and everybody at nasaare wives'sing, and's the hearts are floundering, they do not know what is coming, with a few minutes ago, he had a few minutes to speak, and he says to the world "in the beginning, god and immediately, men and women began to sob. bill anderson is reading from genesis in the bible, a story that speaks to millions of us of -- at once, a of story of creation that is not have to do with tribes or takescts, then lovell