Flying a mere 2 months after Apollo 7’s successful flight Apollo 8 became the first manned mission to leave Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The crew became the first humans to orbit the moon and see earthrise. This was the first manned launch of the Saturn V rocket.

A few statistics:

• Crew: Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders

• Launch Vehicle: Saturn V

• Date: December 21 - 27, 1968