(CNN) — Apollo astronaut Col. Frank Borman, who led the first mission to orbit the moon, has died in Billings, Montana, NASA has announced. He is 95 years old.
“Today we remember one of NASA’s greatest. Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero. Among his many accomplishments, he served as the commander of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, humanity’s first mission to orbit the Moon,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement Thursday.
“In addition to his important role as mission commander, he is a Gemini 7 veteran, spending 14 days in low Earth orbit and leading the first rendezvous in space, coming within feet of the Gemini 6 spacecraft,” Nelson added.
Here, from left, are Frank Borman, commander of the three-man Apollo 8 crew, William A. Anders and James A. Lovell, Jr. before orbiting the moon on December 21, 1968.
Borman reportedly died on November 7.
In 1967, Borman was a member of the Apollo 204 review team that investigated the fire that killed three astronauts on Apollo I, according to a brief NASA biography. Borman later headed the team that redesigned the Apollo spacecraft.
Borman continued in aviation after working at NASA as CEO of Eastern Airlines.
