Editing Frank Borman (section)

=== Project Gemini ===
{{Main|Gemini 7}}
[[File:Gemini 7 Breakfast (S65-59927).jpg|thumb|right|Borman (right) is joined for breakfast before the Gemini 7 mission by fellow astronauts]]
When the Chief of the Flight Crew Operations, Mercury Seven astronaut [[Deke Slayton]], drew up a tentative schedule of Project Gemini flights, he assigned Mercury Seven astronaut [[Alan Shepard]] command of the first crewed flight, [[Gemini 3]], with Next Nine astronaut Tom Stafford as his co-pilot. Mercury Seven astronaut [[Gus Grissom]] would command the backup crew, with Borman as his co-pilot. Under the crew rotation system Slayton devised, the backup crew of one mission would become the prime of the third mission after. Borman would therefore become the co-pilot of Gemini 6, which was planned as a long-duration fourteen-day mission.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|pp=137–138}}

An Apollo mission to the Moon was expected to take at least a week,{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=53}} so one of the objectives of Project Gemini was to test the ability of the crew and spacecraft components to operate in space for that length of time.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=55–56}} When Shepard was grounded in October 1963, Grissom and Borman became the prime crew of Gemini 3.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|pp=137–138}} Grissom invited Borman to his house to talk to him about the mission, and after a long discussion, decided that he could not work with Borman.<ref name="oral" /> According to [[Gene Cernan]], "the egos of Grissom and Borman were too big to fit into a single spacecraft".{{sfn|Cernan|Davis|1999|p=66}} Slayton therefore replaced Borman with [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]].{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|pp=137–138}}

Slayton still wanted Borman for the two-week flight, which had now slipped to [[Gemini 7]], so Borman was assigned as backup commander of Gemini 4, with [[Jim Lovell]] as his co-pilot.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|pp=137–138}} This was officially announced on July 27, 1964,{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=239–240}} and their assignment to Gemini&nbsp;7 followed on July 1, 1965, with [[Ed White (astronaut)|Ed White]] and Michael Collins as their backups.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=265}} Borman was one of four members of his group chosen to command their first missions, the others being McDivitt, [[Neil Armstrong]], and [[Elliot See]],{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=533}} although See was killed in a [[1966 NASA T-38 crash|jet crash]] three months before his mission.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=323–324}} Prime and backup crews trained for the mission together, and Borman found the experience as a backup valuable, amounting to a dress rehearsal of their own mission.{{sfn|Borman|Serling|1988|p=114}}

[[File:Gemini 7 in orbit - GPN-crop.jpg|thumb|left|Gemini 7, as seen from Gemini 6]]
That Gemini&nbsp;7 would last for fourteen days was known from the beginning, and gave Borman time to prepare. To keep fit, he and Lovell jogged {{convert|2|to|3|mi|0}} a day, and played handball after work. They visited the [[McDonnell Aircraft]] plant in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], where their spacecraft was built. At {{convert|8076|lb}}, it was {{convert|250|lb}} heavier than any previous Gemini spacecraft.{{sfn|Borman|Serling|1988|p=114}} Special procedures were developed for the stowage of consumables and garbage. A lightweight space suit was developed to make the astronauts more comfortable.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=277–278}}

A major change affecting the mission occurred when the Agena target vehicle for [[Gemini 6]] suffered a catastrophic failure. This mission was intended to practice [[orbital rendezvous]], a requirement of Project Apollo and therefore an objective of Project Gemini. Borman was at the [[Kennedy Space Center]] (KSC) to observe the launch of Gemini 6, and heard two McDonnell officials, spacecraft chief Walter Burke and his deputy, [[John F. Yardley|John Yardley]], discuss the possibility of using Gemini&nbsp;7 as a rendezvous target. Borman rejected the idea of docking the two spacecraft, but otherwise thought the idea had merit.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=265–268}}

After some discussion about how it could be accomplished, it was approved. The [[6555th Aerospace Test Wing]] dismantled Gemini&nbsp;6 and assembled Gemini&nbsp;7 at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 19]]. Gemini&nbsp;7 was launched at 14:30 local time on December 6, 1965.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=280}} Then the race was on to launch Gemini&nbsp;6 with [[Wally Schirra]] and Tom Stafford on board, which was accomplished at 08:37 local time on December 15.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=282–286}} Gemini&nbsp;6 completed the rendezvous with Gemini&nbsp;7 at 14:33. The two craft came within {{convert|30|cm|in|order=flip|sp=us}} of each other.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=286–291}} At one point Schirra held up a sign in the window for Borman to read that said: "Beat Army". Schirra, Stafford and Lovell were all United States Naval Academy graduates; Borman was outnumbered.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19661012&id=mMctAAAAIBAJ&pg=5341,6430879 |newspaper=Reading Eagle |location=Reading, Pennsylvania |title=Astronauts to Visit Annapolis |date=October 12, 1966 |page=60 |access-date=May 12, 2019 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

[[File:Gemini 7 crew on carrier (S65-63646) (26044118656).jpg|thumb|right|Borman and Lovell arrive on the recovery vessel, the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Wasp|CV-18|6}}]]
When Schirra and Stafford pulled away and returned to Earth, Borman and Lovell still had three days to go, in a space the size of the front seat of a small car. Borman began hoping that something would go wrong and excuse an early return. Finally, on December 18, it was time to return. The two astronauts were pumped up with the help of the stimulant [[dexedrine]]. The re-entry was accomplished flawlessly, and the Gemini&nbsp;7 spacecraft [[Splashdown|splashed down]] {{convert|6.4|mi}} from the recovery vessel, the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Wasp|CV-18|6}}. Borman had never been on an aircraft carrier before, and was awed by its size.{{sfn|Borman|Serling|1988|pp=144–149}} Borman was awarded the [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]] for this mission,{{sfn|Borman|Serling|1988|p=151}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39739763/the_tampa_tribune/|title=4 Gemini Astronauts Agree Man Can Survive in Space|newspaper=The Tampa Tribune|location=Tampa, Florida|date=December 31, 1965|via=Newspapers.com|page=3-B}}</ref> and was promoted to [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]]. At 37, he was the youngest full colonel in the Air Force.{{sfn|Borman|Serling|1988|p=155}}