NASA Says Its First Flight Director Christopher Kraft Dies At Age Of 95

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2019) Christopher Kraft, first flight director of NASA, has died at the age of 95, NASA said.

"America has truly lost a national treasure today with the passing of one of NASA's earliest pioneers - flight director Chris Kraft ... We send our deepest condolences to the Kraft family," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, as quoted by the agency's statement.

He pointed out that Kraft was one of the key members of the team that helped the United States to sent humans to space and the Moon.

"Chris was flight director at some of the most iconic moments of space history, as humans first orbited the Earth and stepped outside of an orbiting spacecraft.

For his work, he was awarded the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal by President John F. Kennedy. Chris later led the Johnson Space Center, known then as the Manned Spacecraft Center, as our human exploration work reached for new heights following the Apollo Program. We stand on his shoulders as we reach deeper into the solar system, and he will always be with us on those journeys," Bridenstine added.

Kraft also served as Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (later Johnson Space Center) from 1972 to 1982.