Frank Frederick Borman II was an American United States Air Force (USAF) colonel, aeronautical engineer, NASA astronaut, test pilot, and businessman. He was the commander of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon, and together with crewmates Jim Lovell and William Anders, became the first of 24 humans to do so, for which he was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Borman in 1964
To acquaint Aerospace Research Pilot School students with some of the techniques of space flight, three F-104s were fitted with rocket motors and reaction controls for use beyond the atmosphere.
Borman (right) is joined for breakfast before the Gemini 7 mission by fellow astronauts
Gemini 7, as seen from Gemini 6
Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and then departed safely back to Earth. These three astronauts—Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders—were the first humans to witness and photograph the far side of the Moon and an Earthrise.
Earthrise Taken from Apollo 8 by William Anders
Left to right: Lovell, Anders, BormanApollo program← Apollo 7Apollo 9 →
Apollo 8 space-flown silver Robbins medallion
The first stage of AS-503 being erected in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on February 1, 1968
