Eastern Air Lines operated from 1927 to 1991 and was one of the Big Four airlines (others included United, Delta, and American) that for almost fifty years dominated commercial airline travel in the United States. Eastern had two famous CEOs. The first was Eddie Rickenbacker (1890-1973), a World War I flying ace, who served the airline from 1935 until 1963. The second was Colonel Frank Borman (1928-), an astronaut who orbited both the Earth (Gemini VII in 1966) and the moon (Apollo VIII in 1968), who held the top spot at the company from the 1975 to 1986. Financial difficulties and union troubles led to the sale of Eastern to Texas Air in 1986, which also owned Continental. Many of Eastern’s assets were then transferred to Continental. The first Gulf War caused a drop in commercial traffic and along with its continuing debt problems, Eastern ceased operations in 1991.