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The first flight director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Kraft helped create the manned space program's structure and operation, especially during the early days of Mercury and Gemini, and established the concept of mission control at Houston's Manned Spaceflight Center, now called Johnson Space Center. The protocols introduced during this time led to the Apollo missions to the Moon and man's first landing on the Moon 50 years ago.
Kraft was a giant figure in the U.S. space program, without whom perhaps many things could have been much different than they are.
He retired from NASA in 1982, just as the new era of unmanned missions and the Space Shuttle were beginning.
While there were a multitude of people both male and female that made the U.S. space program the stuff of legend and glory, very much of it is owed to Chris Kraft. These pioneers have almost completely left us now and they should always be fondly remembered for the spirit of human exploration and adventure they brought us.
