Christopher Columbus Kraft, NASA Flight Director, dies at 95

[SeattleVet]

Source: WPTV (NBC Affiliate, Palm Beach, FL_

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris Kraft, the founder of NASA's mission control, died Monday, just two days after the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. He was 95.

Kraft made key decisions on launches as the U.S. was learning how to put a man into space. Astronaut Neil Armstrong once called him "the man who was the 'Control' in Mission Control."

The first manned flights started in 1961. Kraft had to decide life-and-death matters, such as whether conditions were safe for launch and what to do if a problem developed.

Later in the '60s, he helped design the Apollo missions that took Americans to the moon in 1969. He retired from NASA in 1982 but continued to work as a consultant.

Read more: https://www.wptv.com/media/v/content/a15059731424468db88ad400e6bdaba6

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Wow! Made it to the 50th Anniversary of the landing, but didn't quite make it to the splashdown anniversary. Amazing man - hugely respected within the space community.

[rurallib]

1. Chris Kraft - a name that I was so familiar with growing up

the go to guy to know what was happening.

Sad to hear of his passing.

[SeattleVet]

2. Ars Technica has a very good article:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/christiopher-columbus-kraft-nasas-legendary-flight-director-has-died/

[htuttle]

3. An original steely-eyed missile man

Not too many of them left.

[El Supremo]

4. I'm getting old.

[JohnnyRingo]

5. I remember him.

If only because he had a cool name. The news people always handed off to him.

i didn't know his middle name was Columbus.

[GeorgeGist]

6. Godspeed, Sir.

[NBachers]

7. A fixture of all launch, flight, and recovery coverage.

[Dennis Donovan]

8. Kick and rec. A space hero of mine

[Botany]

9. Chris Kraft and Gene Kranz .... not going to ever get any better

n/t

[BigmanPigman]

10. Strange timing...

Reminds me of two of the Founding Fathers who died on July 4th.

[Xipe Totec]

11. K&R for visibility nt

[nitpicker]

12. I actually went to a school named for him

In Hampton VA.

[Paladin]

13. Saw him on the "From The Earth To The Moon" re-run, this past weekend.

I always respected him a lot more than Werner Von Braun----probably because Kraft never used Jewish slave labor to make any of his rockets fly...

[FakeNoose]

14. Thank you sir, for all your brilliant accomplishments

[honest.abe]

15. That name was so familiar to me from watching all those space missions back in the 60s and 70s.

And a cool name it was!

RIP.