American astronaut Frank Borman, who led the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968, died on Tuesday at the age of 95, according to NASA. Announced yesterday.
Apollo 8 was the first space mission in history whose members saw and photographed the far side of the moon. During the flight, William Anders, a colleague of Bormann’s, took the famous “Earthrise” photograph, which shows the Earth as a crescent rising above the moon’s surface.
Borman was “one of the best” at NASA, NASA chief Bill Nelson wrote on Twitter (X): “His lifelong love of flight and exploration is surpassed only by his love for his wife, Susan.”
Borman was born in 1928 in the US state of Indiana, and initially completed his training as a fighter pilot in the US Air Force. After years as a jet pilot, he became an assistant professor of thermodynamics at West Point Military Academy in New York.
However, he became world famous as one of the pioneers of space travel. In 1965, during the Gemini 7 space mission, Borman and subsequent Apollo 8 companion Jim Lovell remained in space for what was then a record period of 14 days.
After his career at NASA ended, Borman became CEO of Eastern Airlines.
“Food practitioner. Bacon guru. Infuriatingly humble zombie enthusiast. Total student.”
More Stories
Several injured in a major fire in the port of Odessa
Von der Leyen fights for her political survival in a lively debate
16 Amazon trucks were set on fire during Walpurgis Night in Berlin