CNN —William Anders, a NASA astronaut who was part of the 1968 Apollo 8 crew who were the first three people to orbit the moon, has died in a plane crash in Washington state, according to his son, Gregory Anders. Anders served as a fighter pilot in all-weather interception squadrons of the Air Defense Command in California and Iceland, according to NASA and the US Naval Academy. Taken aboard Apollo 8 by William Anders, this iconic picture shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the first crewed spacecraft circumnavigated the Moon, with astronauts Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell aboard. Anders served as the lunar module pilot for the historic flight. Anders served as Executive Secretary for the National Aeronautics and Space Council from 1969 to 1973, according to NASA.

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Persons: William Anders, Gregory Anders, ” Anders, Anders, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, ”, Lovell, Borman, Gerald Ford, Bill Nelson, “ Bill Anders, ” Nelson, Valerie, CNN’s Ashley Strickland Organizations: CNN, NASA, San Juan County Sheriff’s, United States Coast Guard, United States Naval Academy, US Air Force, US Naval, Air Defense Command, US Naval Academy, Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Apollo, Time Magazine, National Aeronautics, Space Council, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Locations: Washington, San Juan Islands, San Juan County, Jones, Seattle, Hong Kong, California, Iceland, New Mexico