FRANK BORMAN 

NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)

A hero of the American Space Odyssey, Frank Borman led the first team of American 

astronauts to circle the moon, extending man's horizons into space. He is internationally 

known as Commander of the 1968 Apollo 8 Mission. A romance with airplanes that 

began when he was 15 years old, took Frank Borman to the Air Force and then to NASA.

A career Air Force officer from 1950, his assignments included service as a fighter pilot, 

an operational pilot and instructor, an experimental test pilot and an assistant professor of 

Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics at West Point. When selected by NASA, Frank 

Borman was instructor at the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB, 

California.

In 1967 he served as a member of the Apollo 204 Fire Investigation Board, investigating 

the causes of the fire which killed three astronauts aboard an Apollo spacecraft, 

reminiscent of the Challenger tragedy. Later he became the Apollo Program Resident Manager, heading the team that reengineered the Apollo spacecraft. He also served as Field Director of NASA's Space Station Task Force.

Frank Borman retired from the air Force in 1970, but is well remembered as a part of this nation's history, a pioneer in the 

exploration of space and a veteran of both the Gemini 7, 1965 Space Orbital Rendezvous with Gemini 6 and the first manned 

lunar orbital mission, Apollo 8, in 1968.

Borman's retirement from the Air Force in 1970 did not end his aviation career. He became a special advisor to Eastern Airlines 

in early 1969 and in December 1970 was named Sr. Vice President-Operations Group.

He was promoted to Executive Vice President-Genera Operations Manager and was elected to Eastern's Board of Directors in 

July 1974. In May 1975 he was elected President and Chief Operating Officer. He was named Chief Executive Officer in 

December 1975 and became Chairman of the Board in December 1976.

During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Eastern, the airline industry went through an enormous change caused by 

deregulation. During this period Eastern originated several unique programs including profit sharing and wages tied to company 

profitability. These programs produced the four most profitable years in the company's history. A recalcitrant union forced their 

abandonment in 1983 and the resulting loses led to the sale of the airline to Texas Air Corporation. Colonel Borman retired from 

Eastern Airlines in June of 1986.

Colonel Borman was privileged to serve as Special Presidential Ambassador on trips throughout the Far East and Europe, 

including a worldwide tour to seek support for the release of American Prisoners of war held by North Vietnam.

He received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from the President of the United States. Colonel Borman also was 

awarded the Harmon International Aviation Trophy, the Robert J. Collier Trophy, the Tony Jannus Award and the National 

Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal--in addition to many honorary degrees, special honors and service decorations. More 

recently, in September of 1990, Colonel Borman along with fellow Apollo 8 astronauts, Lovell and Anders, was inducted into the 

International Aerospace Hall of Fame. And in October of 1990 received the Airport Operators Council International Downes 

Award. In March 1993, he was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Frank Borman was born in Gary, Indiana, and was raised in Tucson, Arizona. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the 

U.S. Military Academy, West Point, in 1950 and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the California 

Institute of Technology in 1957. He completed the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program in 1970.

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National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058
Frank Borman is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Home Depot, National Geographic, Outboard Marine 

Corporation, Auto Finance Group, Thermo Instrument Systems and American Superconductor. He was named Chief Executive 

Office of Patlex Corporation in the spring of 1988, and presently holds the titles of Chairman, CEO and President of that 

Corporation. He has written an autobiography entitled COUNTDOWN: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF FRANK BORMAN with 

Robert J. Serling, released October of 1988 and published by Silver Arrow Books, William Morrow and Company, Inc.

He is married to the former Susan Bugbee of Tucson, Arizona. They have two sons, Frederick and Edwin, and four 

grandchildren. Frank and Susan presently reside in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

DECEMBER 1993

This is the only version available from NASA. Updates must be sought direct from the above named individual.