Christopher Columbus "Chris" Kraft, Jr. is a retired NASA engineer and manager who was instrumental in establishing the agency's Mission Control operation. Following his graduation from Virginia Tech in 1944, Kraft was hired by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor organization to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He worked for over a decade in aeronautical research before being asked in 1958 to join the Space Task Group, a small team entrusted with the responsibility of putting America's first man in space. Assigned to the flight operations division, Kraft became NASA's first flight director. He was on duty during such historic missions as America's first human spaceflight, first human orbital flight, and first spacewalk. At the beginning of the Apollo program, Kraft retired as a flight director to concentrate on management and mission planning. In 1972, he became director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, following in the footsteps of his mentor Robert R. Gilruth. He held the position until his 1982 retirement from NASA. 

February 28th, 1924 in Phoebus  /  Died:   Jul 22nd, 2019 - aged 95