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Borman & Lovell Celebrate 90th Birthdays

By Doug Messier
Parabolic Arc
March 27, 2018
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Apollo 8 crew members William Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on the carrier after their mission. (Credit: NASA)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Parabolic Arc would like to extend belated birthday wishes to Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, who both celebrated their 90th birthdays this month. Lovell’s birthday was Sunday, and Borman celebrated his latest trip around the sun on March 14.

The two nonagenarians, who were crew mates on Gemini 7 and Apollo 8, are the oldest of the surviving Apollo astronauts. The rest of their compatriots are all in the 80’s.

Borman and Lovell spent nearly 14 days aloft aboard Gemini 7 in December 1965. The flight proved that astronauts could survive trips to the moon and back. During the flight, the spacecraft rendezvoused and flew in formation with Gemini 6, which was piloted by Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford. The rendezvous was also a first for human spaceflight.

Borman and Lovell teamed up again in December 1968 for the first manned voyage to the moon. Along with Apollo 8 crew mate William Anders, the astronauts made 10 orbits above the lunar surface, paving the way for eventual moon landings.

The mission proved to be the last spaceflights for Borman and Anders. Lovell would go on to command the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, which had to abort a landing in the Frau Mauro highlands due to an explosion in the service module. Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert used the lunar module as a lifeboat.

Borman and Lovell were not the only Apollo astronauts who celebrated another year on planet Earth. The others were:

  • March 15 — Alan Bean, Apollo 12 & Skylab 3 — 86
  • March 16 — Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7 — 86
  • March 17 — Ken Mattingly, Apollo 16 — 82.

The table below shows the Apollo crews who flew in the lunar, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs. Although some astronauts died relatively young, many of them survived into their 80’s — a tribute to the superb conditioning required by NASA and the military services in which they served.

Of the 12 men to walk on the moon, five are still alive: Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Bean (Apollo 12), David Scott (Apollo 15), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16), and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt (Apollo 17).

APOLLO, SKYLAB & APOLLO-SOYUZ MISSIONS
MISSION OBJECTIVES
CREW
BORN DIED
AGE
Apollo 1

Test command service module in Earth orbit; crew died in a flash fire that swept through the command module during a practice countdown Virgil “Gus” Grissom April 3, 1926 January 27, 1967 d. 40
Edward White October 14, 1930 January 27, 1967 d. 36
Roger Chaffee February 15, 1935 January 27, 1967 d. 31
Apollo 7
Oct. 11-22 1968
Test command service module in Earth orbit Wally Schirra March 12, 1923 May 3, 2007 d. 84
Donn Eisele June 23, 1930 December 2, 1987 d. 57
Walt Cunningham March 16, 1932 86
Apollo 8
Dec. 21-27 1968
First human voyage to the moon; 10 orbits above the lunar surface Frank Borman March 14, 1928 90
Jim Lovell March 25, 1928 90
Bill Anders October 17, 1933 84
Apollo 9
March 3-13 1969
Test command service module and lunar module in Earth orbit James A. McDivitt June 10, 1929 88
David R. Scott June 6, 1932 85
Russell L. Schweickart October 25, 1935 82
Apollo 10
May 18-26 1969
Dress rehearsal for first human landing on the moon; lunar module flew within 50,000 feet of lunar surface Tom Stafford September 17, 1930 87
John Young September 24, 1930 Jan. 5, 2018 d. 87
Eugene Cernan March 14, 1934 Jan. 16, 2017 d. 82
Apollo 11
July 16-24 1969
First manned moon landing on Sea of Tranquility; Armstrong and Aldrin spent more than two hours walking on the surface Neil Armstrong August 5, 1930 August 25, 2012 d. 82
Buzz Aldrin January 20, 1930 88
Michael Collins October 31, 1930 87
Apollo 12
Nov. 14-24 1969
Second manned landing on the moon; recovered part of Surveyor 3 lander Charles “Pete” Conrad June 2, 1930 July 8, 1999 d. 69
Alan Bean March 15, 1932 86
Dick Gordon October 5, 1929 Nov. 6, 2017 d. 88
Apollo 13
April 11-17 1970
Landing in Fra Mauro aborted due to explosion in service module oxygen tank Jim Lovell March 25, 1928 90
Fred Haise November 14, 1933 84
Jack Swigert August 30, 1931 December 27, 1982 d. 51
Apollo 14
Jan. 31 – Feb. 9, 1971
Exploration of the Fra Mauro formation Alan Shepard November 18, 1923 July 21, 1998 d. 74
Edgar Mitchell September 17, 1930 February 4, 2016 d. 85
Stu Roosa August 16, 1933 December 12, 1994 d. 61
Apollo 15
July 28 – Aug. 7, 1971
Exploration of Hadley Rille; first use of the lunar rover; Worden made first deep space walk to retrieve film from the service module David Scott June 6, 1932 85
James Irwin March 17, 1930 August 8, 1991 d. 61
Al Worden February 7, 1932 86
Apollo 16
April 16-27 1972
Exploration of Descartes Highlands; Young and Duke spent more than 20 hours walking and driving on the surface John W. Young September 24, 1930 Jan. 5, 2018 d. 87
Charles Duke October 3, 1935 82
Ken Mattingly March 17, 1936 82
Apollo 17
Dec. 7-19 1972
Final manned moon mission; Cernan and Schmitt spent 22 hours outside the lunar module exploring Taurus-Littrow highlands Eugene Cernan March 14, 1934 Jan. 16, 2017 d. 82
Harrison “Jack” Schmitt July 3, 1935 82
Ronald Evans November 10, 1933 April 7, 1990 d. 56
Skylab 2
May 25 – June 22 1973
First U.S. space station crew; set new space duration record of 28 days; during launch, Skylab damaged with one solar panel torn off, another trapped against the ship by debris; crew freed the solar panel and spread a parasol over area where micrometeorite/ heat shield had been torn off; astronauts completed many of planned experiments Pete Conrad June 2, 1930 July 8, 1999 d. 69
Joseph Kerwin February 19, 1932 86
Paul Weitz July 25, 1932 October 22, 2017 d. 85
Skylab 3
July 28 – Sept. 25 1973
Second U.S. space station crew set new space duration record of 59 days; conducted experiments on human body’s adaptation in space, observed sun using powerful space telescopes; placed second shield over parasol to protect station Alan Bean March 15, 1932 86
Owen Garriott November 22, 1930 86
Jack Lousma February 29, 1936 82
Skylab 4
Nov. 16, 1973 – Feb. 8, 1974

Third and final crew set new duration record of 84 days; continued experiments begun by first two crews Gerald Carr August 22, 1932 85
Edward Gibson November 8, 1936 81
William Pogue January 23, 1930 March 3, 2014 d. 84
Apollo-
Soyuz Test Project
July 15-24 1975

First joint docking of American and Soviet spacecraft in orbit; first and only spaceflight for Deke Slayton, one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts who had been grounded due to a heart irregularity Tom Stafford September 17, 1930 87
Vance Brand May 9, 1931 86
Deke Slayton March 1, 1924 June 13, 1993 d. 69

3 responses to “Borman & Lovell Celebrate 90th Birthdays”

  1. JS Initials says:
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    Their birthdays fall on the same date as the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s death.
    It’s a mystery surrounding the last year of his life. Was Gagarin an alcoholic by then?
    Was he out of shape? Was the tragic Soyuz 1 spaceflight a year earlier supposed to take up
    Gagarin instead of Komarov? Was Gagarin training to go up in Soyuz 3 that summer, and dock with
    Soyuz 2 to use it as a ‘space tug’ to boost him into the Van Allen Radiation Belt?

  2. ThomasLMatula says:
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    Happy Birthday to both of these American heroes.

  3. Bulldog says:
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    Congratulations and Happy Birthday to both Col. Frank Borman and Capt. Jim Lovell!

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