[AR] Re: bittersweet anniversary
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2018 00:00:16 -0500 (EST)
On Sat, 22 Dec 2018, Rand Simberg wrote:
The Wikipedia page for Apollo 8 says that Low et al eventually persuaded
Webb to approve the mission, but that doesn't jibe with my previous
research. I thought that he was resistant, and resigned in October (in
part because he disapproved?), and then Paine approved it in November as
acting administrator?
According to "Chariots for Apollo" (NASA SP-4205, the NASA History book on
the Apollo spacecraft, not the later Pellegrino&Stoff book by the same
name) and several other sources, when Webb was first approached in August,
he was shocked at first, and Phillips and Paine couldn't get him to
officially buy it. I don't recall ever seeing mention of him changing his
mind. He *did* authorize confidential planning and quiet preparations,
but not a public announcement -- officially, Apollo 8 was still an
Earth-orbit flight. At the very least, no official change would be made
until after Apollo 7 (in mid-October), which did make sense -- full
success there was certainly a prerequisite.
Webb announced his resignation in mid-September, after a meeting with LBJ;
it was effective early October, leaving Paine as acting administrator.
Nobody can say for sure whether Webb would have approved the lunar Apollo
8 in the end. It was bold, for sure... and the Apollo fire had hit Webb
hard; people who dealt with him regularly said he was sounding tired and
had become more risk-averse. Some have suggested that he resigned partly
because he didn't want to face the Apollo 8 decision and the possible
aftermath of a failure.
(As far as I know, there is no documentation of the reason for Webb's
sudden departure; there are other theories. But even if all went well, he
wouldn't be in office for Apollo's triumph. Since LBJ wasn't running for
re-election, Webb had only a few more months as administrator -- like any
other political appointee, he would formally resign as the new
administration took office, and almost certainly a new president would not
ask him back. So it's certainly *plausible* that he just decided that he
didn't want to deal with this, and it was simpler to retire before the
request for final approval hit his desk. It would explain why he chose to
leave *before* the first manned Apollo flew -- you'd think that sticking
around only a few more weeks would have let him leave on a high note.)
Paine approved and announced the lunar Apollo 8 in mid-November, after
several meetings and considerable back-and-forth.
Henry
Other related posts: