Died at the age of 95
Former US astronaut Frank Borman, who made history by commanding the first manned flight to circle the moon, has died at the age of 95 on Thursday. (Image source: AFP)
Oldest American astronaut alive
Born in Gary, Indiana, on March 14, 1928, he was the oldest American astronaut still living (Image source: Reuters)
Selected for Nasa's second astronaut program in 1962
Borman became an Air Force fighter pilot after graduating from the US Military Academy in 1950. Like most of his fellow generation of astronauts, he trained as a test pilot before being selected for Nasa's second astronaut program in 1962. (Image source: AP)
Commander of Apollo 8
He was commander on Apollo 8 - the first lunar orbital mission - and made 10 trips around the moon with his two crewmates on a mission that stretched over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.(Image source: AP)
Earthrise
The mission yielded a stunning and unprecedented photo by Borman's crewmate William Anders that came to be known as "Earthrise" a blue and white Earth seen as a partial orb rising over the blank lunar surface. (Image source NASA)
Time to shoot for the moon
In his book, "Countdown: An Autobiography," Borman said Apollo 8 was originally supposed to orbit Earth. The success of Apollo 7's mission in October 1968 to show system reliability on long duration flights made Nasa decide it was time to take a shot at flying to the moon. (NYT News Service)
Retires from Nasa to become adviser to Eastern Airlines
In 1970 Borman retired from NASA and the Air Force and became an adviser to Eastern Airlines. By 1975 he had become the airline's president and a year later was named chairman. (NYT News Service)
Also served as Special Presidential Ambassador
Colonel Borman also served as Special Presidential Ambassador to seek support for the release of American prisoners of war held by North Virtnam. (Image source: NASA)
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