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[Apollo 8] HUMANITY FIRST ESCAPES EARTH'S GRAVITY: the S-IVB stage in deep space after jettison James Lovell, 21-27 December 1968 image 1
[Apollo 8] HUMANITY FIRST ESCAPES EARTH'S GRAVITY: the S-IVB stage in deep space after jettison James Lovell, 21-27 December 1968 image 2
[Apollo 8] HUMANITY FIRST ESCAPES EARTH'S GRAVITY: the S-IVB stage in deep space after jettison James Lovell, 21-27 December 1968 image 3
Lot 162

[Apollo 8] HUMANITY FIRST ESCAPES EARTH'S GRAVITY: the S-IVB stage in deep space after jettison
James Lovell, 21-27 December 1968

FOR ALL MANKIND: THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche

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[Apollo 8] HUMANITY FIRST ESCAPES EARTH'S GRAVITY: the S-IVB stage in deep space after jettison

James Lovell, 21-27 December 1968

Printed 1968.

Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS8-16-2584].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA / North American Rockwell, Downey, California). (North American Rockwell was NASA's prime contractor for the Apollo Command and Service Modules).

20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)

Historical context
This spectacular photograph captures the first-ever spacecraft manoeuvres conducted by humans in deep space, featuring the expended third stage of the mighty Saturn V rocket—the very engine that propelled Apollo 8 beyond Earth's gravity for the first time in history.
Taken by James Lovell from the Command Module after translunar injection and separation, the image shows the S-IVB stage drifting through the void as Apollo 8 manoeuvred to inspect it following detachment.
Though the S-IVB was now adrift, the crew still had 66 hours ahead—crossing the vast translunar gulf—before reaching the Moon.

Footnotes

Attached to the SIVB is the Lunar Module Test Article (LTA) which simulated the mass of a Lunar Module (LM) on the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. The 29-feet panels of the Spacecraft LM Adapter (SLA) which enclosed the LTA during launch have already been jettisoned and are out of view.

From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:

003:21:46 Borman: Man, where's the S-IVB? Anybody see it, now?
003:21:49 Lovell: There it is!
003:21:50 Borman: You found it?
003:21:51 Lovell: Right in the middle. Right in the middle of my window. There's not a panel around.
003:21:55 Borman: What a view!
003:21:58 Collins (Mission Control): Looks pretty good, huh?
003:21:58 Lovell: Give me the camera.
003:21:59 Anders: Well, we've got some still pictures we can take...
003:22:01 Lovell: Could you pitch a little more?
003:22:02 Borman: Yes.
003:22:03 Anders: We haven't got in here, yet.
003:22:08 Anders: f/11, 1/250th.
003:22:10 Lovell: f/11.
003:22:12 Anders: We've Sep'd Houston. We got the IVB, right in sight.
003:22:16 Collins: Roger, Apollo 8. [Long pause.]
003:22:19 Anders: Could you pitch just a little more or [garble].
003:22:21 Borman: Which way?
003:22:22 Anders: Pitch up, pitch up a little more.
003:22:27 Borman: How's that?
003:22:33 Lovell: I don't see the [garble]. Maybe I can get it in a minute.
003:22:46 Lovell: Easy on the thrusters.
003:22:48 Anders: Don't you think that's enough pictures of it?

Literature
LIFE, 10 January 1969, p.25

Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 8 - 16-mm magazine H

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