Frank Borman was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who is best known for his role as the commander of the Apollo 8 mission, the first manned mission to the moon.
Borman was born in Gary, Indiana in 1928. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and later earned a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
Borman joined NASA as an astronaut in 1962 and was a member of the second group of astronauts selected by the agency. In December 1968, he served as the commander of the Apollo 8 mission, which was the first manned mission to the moon. He was accompanied on the mission by astronauts James Lovell and William Anders, and the three men orbited the moon ten times over the course of 20 hours.
After the Apollo 8 mission, Borman remained with NASA and served as the head of the astronaut office. In 1970, he retired from NASA and the military to become the president of Eastern Airlines. He later served as the chairman of the board of directors for Eastern before retiring from the airline in 1986.
Borman received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to space exploration, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.