Frank Borman, the commander of Apollo 8 who led the first mission to orbit the moon in 1968, has died at the age of 95. Borman and his crew paved the way for space exploration.
Astronaut Frank Borman, who commanded Apollo 8’s historic Christmas 1968 flight that circled the moon 10 times and paved the way for the lunar landing the next year, has died. He was 95.
Borman died Tuesday in Billings, Montana, according to NASA.
Borman also led troubled Eastern Airlines in the 1970s and early ’80s after leaving the astronaut corps.
But he was best known for his NASA duties. He and his crew, James Lovell and William Anders, were the first Apollo mission to fly to the moon — and to see Earth as a distant sphere in space.
« Today we remember one of NASA’s best. Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero, » NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement Thursday. « His lifelong love for aviation and exploration was only surpassed by his love for his wife Susan. »
Launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Dec. 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 trio spent three days traveling to the moon, and slipped into lunar orbit on Christmas Eve. After they circled 10 times on Dec. 24-25, they headed home on Dec. 27.
On Christmas Eve, the astronauts read from the Book of Genesis in a live telecast from the orbiter: « In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. »
Borman ended the broadcast with, « And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you — all of you on the good Earth.
