Two days after the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, Christopher Kraft Jr took a final giant leap into the great beyond. In 1958 he was recruited to the Space Task Group, a team dedicated to putting the first man into space. They failed that task – beaten by the Ruskies – but Kraft’s skills were noted and he was made NASA’s first official Flight Director. He was on duty when America first put a man in space, first conducted a crewed orbital flight and first performed a space walk. He was only a spectator during the Apollo 11 moon landing but played a key role in the rescue of Apollo 13.
Christopher Kraft Jr
February 28, 1924 – July 22, 2019
Died aged 95 (two picks)