(RepublicanDaily.org) – NASA reports that Apollo mission commander Col. Frank Borman, Commander of Apollo 8 on its historic 1968 Christmas mission to orbit the moon ten times in preparation for the Apollo 11 moon landing, has died. He was 95. According to NASA, Borman passed away on Tuesday in Billings, Montana.
In 1962, NASA chose him to be an astronaut because of his dedication and meticulousness. In 1965, he took his first trip into space aboard Gemini 7, a 14-day mission to establish that people could survive in weightlessness (in the confined two-person capsule). NASA chose Borman as the flight commander instead of a more experienced astronaut.
In 1968, Borman and his crewmates Jim Lovell and William Anders were the first humans to see an Earthrise while orbiting the moon. A picture of Earth rising over the Moon was taken by Anders, and it has become an iconic symbol of space exploration.
On Thursday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson released a statement praising Astronaut Frank Borman as a genuine American hero. He loved his wife, Susan, more than anything in the world, even more than his lifetime passion for flying and exploring.
The Apollo 8 crew left Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 21, 1968, and arrived in lunar orbit on Christmas Eve after a three-day trip. They did ten complete revolutions on December 24 and 25 and then returned home on December 27.
During a live broadcast from the orbiter on Christmas Eve, the astronauts recited Genesis 1:1–2 in honor of the holiday.
Borman elaborated on how the planet looks from space. He said being the first humans to see the world was a very moving experience. They didn’t exchange words, but he knew they were thinking similarly about their loved ones on Earth.
He said of his view of earth, this must be what God sees.
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