Frank Borman (born March 14, 1928) was a NASA astronaut, best remembered as one of the three crewmembers of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon.

Borman was born in Gary, Indiana, and started to fly at the age of 15. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1950, and joined the U.S. Air Force thereafter. He was selected for the second NASA astronaut group in 1962.

His first spaceflight was Gemini 7 in 1965, highlighted by the first space rendezvous with Gemini 6A. However, his most significant flight was Apollo 8 in 1968. The mission was originally planned as a Saturn V powered 'Large Earth Orbit' mission to test tracking and communication. When NASA decided to try for a lunar orbit mission Borman was key to deciding to stay with this far more dangerous mission profile.

He retired from NASA and the Air Force in 1970, becoming special advisor to Eastern Airlines. He rose in the ranks of Eastern, becoming CEO in December 1975. The airline business underwent many changes in the late 1970s, and Eastern did well under Borman, reporting the four most profitable years in company history during his tenure. Borman retired from Eastern in 1986.

Borman currently enjoys rebuilding and flying airplanes from World War II and the Korean era. His current favorite airplane is a dual contol TF-51 Mustang.

Trivia

• In Indiana, Interstates 80 and 94 combine for several miles to form the Frank Borman Expressway .

Reference

• Countdown: An Autobiography of Frank Borman, ISBN 0688079296

External link

• Official NASA biography