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Frank Borman

FRANK BORMAN
PROFILE
Full Name:	Frank Frederick BORMAN.
Rank:	Colonel, US Air Force (Deceased).
Born:	14 March 1928, in Cary, Indiana, USA (American).
Died:	7 November 2023, in Billings, Montana, USA, aged 95.
Education:	1946: Graduated from Tucson High School, Tucson, Arizona. 1950: BSc degree from the US Military Academy, West Point. 1957: MSc degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. 1960: Graduated USAF Test Pilot School (Class 60C) 1961: Graduated USAF Aerospace Research Pilots School (ARPS; Class 1). 1970: Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School.
Career Highlights:	1946-50: Student at West Point Military Academy. 1950-51: USAF pilot training. 1951-53: Fighter pilot with the 44th Fighter Bomber Squadron, Clark AFB, Philippines. 1953-56: Operational pilot and instructor with a number of Air Force squadrons in the United States. 1957-60: After earning his Masters' degree, he returned to West Point to become assistant professor of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. 1960-62: Student, USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California; (1960) graduated and became an instructor at the Test Pilot School; (Jun 1961) student, first ARPS class; (Dec 1961) graduated and became a flight training instructor at the ARPS.

NASA ASTRONAUT ASSIGNMENTS
1962:	(17 Sep) Named as one of nine pilot astronauts for NASA Group 2 ("The Next Nine"); (1 Oct) began academic and basic training.
1963:	Academic and basic training; (26 Jan) Astronaut Office (Code CB) technical assignment in Boosters; (6 Feb) formally completed academic training; basic and wilderness survival training programme; (Jul) informally told that he would be BUp Pilot for Gemini 3 and rotate to Pilot for the 14-day Gemini 6 mission; (Nov) Alan Shepard's illness removed him from Commander position on Gemini 3, crew re-assignments give Borman the chance to command the long duration mission, with Jim Lovell as Pilot.
1964:	CB technical assignments; (8 Jul) assigned to CB Apollo Branch Office (until Jul 1965); (27 Jul) named BUp Command Pilot Gemini 4; Gemini 4 training.
1965:	Gemini 4 training; (Jun) BUp Command Pilot Gemini 4; (1 Jul) named Command Pilot Gemini 7; Gemini 7 training; (4-18 Dec) flew as Command Pilot Gemini 7 (330 hrs 35 min, or 14 days); set world endurance record (with Lovell - held until June 1970) and completed first crewed rendezvous in space (with Gemini 6); (Dec) identified as BUp CDR Apollo 2 (Block 1) to re-assign and fly Apollo 4 (first crewed Saturn V flight).
1966:	Preliminary Apollo 2 CDR Block 1 training; (29 Sep) officially named as BUp CDR Apollo 2; Apollo 2 training; (15 Nov) informed Apollo 2 Block 1 mission cancelled; (22 Dec) named as CDR Apollo 3, first crewed Saturn V launch.
1967:	Apollo 3 training; (27 Jan) all flights and crews grounded following Apollo 1 pad fire; ( ) named as CB representative on Apollo 204 (1) Fire Investigation Board; worked as Investigation Board member; later assigned as Apollo Program Resident Manager, heading the team that re-engineered the Apollo spacecraft; (20 Nov) named CDR Apollo 'E' deep space mission (Apollo 9) to apogee of 6,437 km (4,000 miles); Apollo mission training.
1968:	Apollo mission training; (Aug) re-assigned as CDR Apollo 8; Apollo mission training; (21-27 Dec) flew as CDR Apollo 8 (147 hrs 0 min), first crewed flight of Saturn V, first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit (mission included 10 lunar orbits).
1969:	( ) Field Director, NASA Space Station Task Force.
1970:	Field Director, NASA Space Station Task Force; (1 Jul) resigned from NASA and retired from the USAF with the rank of Colonel.

POST-ASTRONAUT EXPERIENCE
1 Jul 1970 - 1 Jul 1986:	Employed by Eastern Airlines; Borman became a special advisor to Eastern in January 1969; in July 1970 he joined full time as Vice President, Operations; (Dec 1970) Senior VP, Operations Group; (Jul 1974) promoted to Executive VP, General Operations Manager and elected to Eastern's Board of Directors; (27 May 1975) Elected President and Chief Operations Officer, Eastern Airlines; (16 Dec 1975) Chief Executive Officer, Eastern Airlines; (15 Dec 1976) Chairman of the Board, Eastern Airlines; (1 Jul 1986) resigned from Eastern Airlines.
From 1986:	Aerospace consultant and became a member of the Board of Directors of several companies; (1988) autobiography Countdown published.

Frank BORMAN Space Flight Missions
Mission	Vehicle	Position	Dates DD/MM/YY	Duration DD:HH:MM:SS	Orbits	EVAs
Gemini 7	Titan II	Command Pilot	04/12/1965-18/12/1965	13:18:35:01	206	0
Apollo 8	Saturn V	Commander	21/12/1968-27/12/1968	06:03:00:42	1.5*	0

Missions Flown:		2	Total Flight Time:	19:21:35:43	207.5	0
*Borman also completed 10 lunar orbits

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This profile is copyright Astro Info Service Ltd, 2025.

All images are courtesy of NASA, unless otherwise stated.

1964 NASA portrait of Frank Borman, who commanded two important and historic space flights.

In his role as back-up Command Pilot for Gemini 4, Borman (centre) monitors the flight from the Mission Control Center, together with astronauts Clifton C. Williams (left) and Alan Shepard (right).

Command Pilot Borman looks over the Gemini 7 capsule during weight and balance tests at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in October 1965.

Borman is seen here performing visual acuity tests inside the spacecraft during the record-breaking 14-day endurance flight of Gemini 7 in December 1965.

The Saturn V heads for orbit at the start of the Apollo 8 mission that would see Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders become the first humans to leave the vicinity of Earth, spending 20 hours orbiting the Moon in December 1968.