Apollo 8 carried three astronauts farther from Earth than anyone had ever traveled.
It orbited the lunar surface 10 times, flying nearly 60 miles above its surface, to photograph a bleak and rock-strewn terrain, seeking potential landing spots for the moonwalks to come.
Mr. Borman, who never set foot on the moon — and by his own account had no desire to do so — flew in space twice.
In December 1965, he commanded the two-man Gemini 7 spacecraft on a 14-day flight that set what was then a record for time spent in space.
Gemini 7 rendezvoused with Gemini 6A as it orbited Earth, a significant step toward perfecting a similar maneuver that would be required when astronauts reached the moon.
Persons:
Frank Borman, Borman, —
Organizations:
NASA, Apollo, Gemini
Locations:
America, Billings, Mont