William A. Anders
NASA astronaut
Died when: 90 years 234 days (1087 months)Star Sign: Libra
William Alison Anders (born 17 October 1933) was a retired United States Air Force (USAF) major general, former electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman.
In December 1968, he was a member of the crew of Apollo 8, the first three people to leave low Earth orbit and travel to the Moon.
Along with fellow astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, Anders circled the Moon ten times, and broadcast live images and commentary back to Earth.
During one of the mission's lunar orbits, he took the iconic Earthrise photograph.A graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Anders was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1955, and became a fighter pilot flying Northrop F-89 Scorpions equipped with MB-1 nuclear-tipped air-to-air missiles.
He hoped to study aeronautical engineering through the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, but the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program was ongoing, and he had to study nuclear engineering instead.
He graduated from the AFIT in 1962 with a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering, and was sent to the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, where he managed the technical aspects of the USAF nuclear power reactor programs.
Anders was the executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council from 1969 to 1973, a commissioner of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1973 to 1975, and chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1975 to 1976.
He then became the Ambassador to Norway from 1976 to 1977.In September 1977, he joined General Electric (GE) as the vice president and general manager of its Nuclear Products Division and became the general manager of the GE Aircraft Equipment Division in 1980.
He left GE to join Textron as executive vice president for aerospace, and two years later became senior executive vice president for operations.
During his time in the Civil Service, Anders had remained in the USAF as a reservist and had retained his active flight status.
He retired from the reserves as a major general in 1988.In 1990, he became vice chairman of General Dynamics, and on 1 January 1991 its chairman and CEO.
He retired as CEO in 1993, and as chairman in May 1994.
