59 Facts About Bill Anders

Graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Bill Anders was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in 1955, and became a fighter pilot flying Northrop F-89 Scorpions equipped with MB-1 nuclear-tipped air-to-air missiles.

Bill Anders hoped to study aeronautical engineering through the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, but the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program was ongoing, and he had to study nuclear engineering instead.

Bill Anders 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.

Bill 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.

Bill Anders then became the Ambassador to Norway from 1976 to 1977.

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Bill Anders left GE to join Textron as executive vice president for aerospace, and two years later became senior executive vice president for operations.

Bill Anders retired from the reserves as a major general in 1988.

Bill Anders retired as CEO in 1993, and as chairman in May 1994.

William Alison Anders was born in Hong Kong on 17 October 1933, the son of Arthur F Anders, a United States Navy lieutenant, and his wife Muriel Adams.

Arthur Bill Anders was rescued by the British and sent to San Diego Naval Hospital to recover from his wounds and a staph infection.

Bill Anders was awarded the Purple Heart and the Navy Cross but was discharged from the Navy due to his wounds.

Family returned to the United States, where Bill Anders was active in the Boy Scouts, achieving the organization's second-highest rank, Life Scout.

Bill Anders was fascinated with flight and built model aircraft.

Bill Anders received an appointment to Annapolis, following in the footsteps of his father, who graduated with the Class of 1927.

Bill Anders earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1955.

Bill Anders then served with the 57th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron in Iceland, where he participated in intercepts of Soviet heavy bombers who at the time were challenging America's air defense borders.

Bill Anders spoke to Chuck Yeager, who recommended that he first obtain an advanced degree.

Bill Anders submitted an application to the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, hoping to study aeronautical engineering, but the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program was ongoing, and the AFIT had him study nuclear engineering instead.

Bill Anders graduated from the AFIT with a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering in 1962.

Bill Anders now applied to the USAF Aerospace Research Pilots School for test pilot training.

Bill Anders was one of the 34 finalists chosen for interviews, and on his birthday, 17 October 1963, he was informed by Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton that he had been accepted as a member of the third group of NASA astronauts.

Armstrong and Bill Anders then became the first astronauts to fly the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle.

On 22 December 1966, Bill Anders was assigned to the third Apollo mission, which was to be commanded by Frank Borman, with command module pilot Michael Collins; Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin were assigned as their backup crew the following year.

Bill Anders was less enthusiastic about being the lunar module pilot of a mission without a lunar module.

Rookie Bill Anders was thirty-five, slightly built, a devout Roman Catholic, and very serious minded.

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Bill Anders was always friendly and cooperative, but he avoided the usual astronaut bull sessions.

In December 1968, Bill Anders flew on the Apollo 8 mission, the first mission where humans traveled beyond low Earth orbit, and the first crewed flight to reach and orbit the Moon.

Bill Anders saw the Earth emerging from behind the lunar horizon and called in excitement to the others, taking a black-and-white photograph as he did so.

Bill Anders asked Lovell for color film and then took Earthrise, which was later picked by Life magazine as one of its hundred photos of the century.

Lovell stepped up to become the backup commander, and Bill Anders became the backup CMP, with rookie astronaut Fred Haise as the backup LMP.

Bill Anders worked closely with the Office of Science and Technology and the Office of Management and Budget and became a personal advisor to the OMB director, Caspar Weinberger.

Bill Anders worked hard to bridge the gap between OMB and OST on the one hand and NASA on the other.

Bill Anders became increasingly pessimistic about the future of the NASC and the space program generally.

Bill Anders opposed the development of the Space Shuttle, urging instead that NASA concentrate on developing the Skylab space station.

Bill Anders argued that a small Space Shuttle would be a better option than a large one, but the large one was approved because it would involve more jobs in California.

Bill Anders served as the US chairman of the joint US-Soviet Union nuclear fission and fusion power technology exchange program.

Bill Anders spent much of his time dealing with the AEC's problematic research and development programs, particularly the troubled breeder reactor program.

Bill Anders was the only one of the five AEC commissioners to transition to one of the new organizations.

Bill Anders made the decision process of the commissioners of the NRC more transparent than that of the AEC.

At the completion of his term as NRC chairman, Bill Anders was asked if he would be interested in an ambassadorship.

Bill Anders expressed an interest in Norway, based on their trip there during the Apollo 8 world publicity tour.

Bill Anders was appointed Ambassador to Norway on 13 April 1976, and held that post until 18 June 1977.

Bill Anders served briefly as a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute.

Bill Anders oversaw GE's partnership with Chicago Bridge and Iron, which manufactured large steel pressure vessels in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1984, Bill Anders left GE to join Textron as its executive vice president for aerospace.

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Bill Anders was a consultant to the US Office of Science and Technology Policy, and a member of the Defense Science Board and the NASA Advisory Council.

Bill Anders became vice chairman of General Dynamics in 1990, and on 1 January 1991, its chairman and CEO.

Bill Anders moved corporate headquarters from St Louis, Missouri, to Falls Church, Virginia, to be closer to its military customers at The Pentagon but then reduced the staff there from 250 to 50.

Bill Anders retired as CEO in 1993, and as chairman in May 1994.

In retirement, Bill Anders bought a house on the waterfront in the San Juan Islands.

Bill Anders disliked the winter there so he bought a second dwelling in Point Loma, California.

Bill Anders established the William A Anders Foundation, a philanthropic organization for educational and environmental issues.

Bill Anders founded the Heritage Flight Museum in 1996 in Bellingham, Washington, which moved to Skagit Regional Airport in Burlington, Washington, in 2014.

Bill Anders was the president and, until 2008, participated in its air shows.

Bill Anders is a member of Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society, American Nuclear Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Academy of Engineering and Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Bill Anders appeared as himself in the 2005 documentary Race to the Moon, which was shown as part of the PBS American Experience television series.

Bill Anders was interviewed in a chapter of the 2015 book No More Worlds to Conquer by Chris Wright.

Bill Anders appeared with fellow astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on the C-SPAN channel book review, Rocket Men.

Bill Anders confirmed the story that he had fallen asleep while awaiting the Apollo 8 launch.