Astronaut Frank Borman dies

December 21, 1968 will go down in history. At that time, the three-man crew of Apollo 8 was launched into space, becoming the first humans to leave Earth’s orbit and instead land in lunar orbit.

The mission was completely successful. For just over 20 hours, they flew over the celestial body, taking hundreds of photos and exploring possible future landing sites on the moon.

During the flight, people on Earth could also follow the crew’s journey through space on television, as was the case at that time It was one of the most watched broadcasts ever. After a four-day flight, they landed safely on Earth again, with all three crew members named by Time magazine as its Person of the Year in 1968.

“A true American hero”

Now one of the Apollo 8 astronauts, mission commander Frank Borman, has died.

– Today we remember one of NASA’s best works. Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero, Bill Nelson says in a statement on NASA’s website.

Furthermore, Nelson says that Frank Borman “knew the power of exploration to unite humanity” and that “his service to NASA and to our country will undoubtedly push the Artemis generation to new cosmic frontiers.”

“His lifelong love of flying and exploration was surpassed only by his love for his wife, Susan,” Nelson continued.

In addition to his work as a pilot for NASA, where he also participated in the Gemini 7 mission, he was for a time CEO of the airline Eastern Airlines.

Frank Borman was 95 years old.

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