[Apollo 8]

Directly from the Estate of Chuck Friedlander, NASA

Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo program and marked a pivotal escalation of the Space Race. From December 21-28 of 1968, the crew, comprised of Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders, became the first three humans to fly to the Moon, successfully executing a trans-lunar injection, before entering the lunar orbit, and orbiting the celestial body for 20 hours. 

Chuck Friedlander served as Chief at the NASA Astronaut Support Office, KSC from 1963-1967, leaving shortly after the Apollo 1 tragedy for CBS where he was Walter Cronkite’s Space Technical Consultant from 1967-1969. Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders invited Friedlander to join him in Washington as his Executive Assistant when he served as Executive Secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council (NASC) at the White House, from 1969-1972. Friedlander also served as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the International Aerospace Hall of Fame, San Diego, CA from 1973-1980.