FLIGHT: My Life in Mission Control

by Christopher Kraft

It an account of the early manned space program. The author is the first NASA Flight Director .

Genres: Space, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Science, Memoir, American History

371 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. was an American aerospace engineer and NASA engineer and manager who was instrumental in establishing the agency's Mission Control operation. Following his graduation from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1944, Kraft was hired by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the predecessor organization to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 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 crewed spaceflight, first crewed 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 (later Johnson Space Center), following in the footsteps of his mentor Robert R. Gilruth. He held the position until his 1982 retirement from NASA. During his retirement, Kraft consulted for numerous companies, including IBM and Rockwell International, and published an autobiography entitled Flight: My Life in Mission Control.

More than any other person, Kraft was responsible for shaping the organization and culture of NASA's Mission Control. As his protégé Glynn Lunney commented, "the Control Center today ... is a reflection of Chris Kraft." In 2011, the Mission Control Center building was named after him. When Kraft received the National Space Trophy from the Rotary Club in 1999, the organization described him as "a driving force in the U.S. human space flight program from its beginnings to the Space Shuttle era, a man whose accomplishments have become legendary."

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now felt like the right time for me to read this book, since you could make an argument that Chris Kraft basically invented the job I recently started. And it was interesting for me to go back to the very beginning of the U.S. space program, and especially to get more details on Mercury and Gemini. I know the history of Apollo in a fair bit of depth, largely due to the class I took on it at MIT, but I enjoyed reading a deeply involved insider's perspective on the programs that preceded it. I appreciated that Kraft made a good effort to recount Mercury stories in particular as they stood on their own, without shoehorning them into some greater Apollo narrative, although it's obviously impossible to avoid that entirely now that we're all sitting on the other side of the space race. Kraft was most hands-on during Mercury, though, since he moved into management roles later, so he provided more of the sorts of details I was after from that earliest program. Many things have changed between then and now, of course, but there are also many things large and small that persist right up to today!

Kraft's personality also tends to shine through in his book - he strikes me as the prototypical old-school aerospace engineer. His writing is straightforward and unadorned, though I can't quite say it's just-the-facts, because Kraft certainly makes no bones about giving his opinions! You can easily tell whether he likes someone, respects them in spite of some personal friction, or just thinks they're a useless screwup. I guess that's the personal touch you get with an autobiography as opposed to a straight-up history. Anyway, I'm interested to continue on and read some other takes on Mission Control, particularly Gene Kranz's Failure is not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond, for the sake of comparison.

[Scott Foshee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intensely Interesting, Salty Account of the U.S. Space Program from its Beginnings Through Apollo and Beyond

Chris Kraft pens a very interesting account of his life and his work with NACA (the forerunner to NASA), NASA, his work in aeronautical research, and his rise to NASA flight Director and beyond to director of the Manned Spacecraft Center. Kraft essentially invented mission control for the U.S. Space Program. Kraft was flight director for some of mankind’s greatest adventures, and he states, “…while the mission is under way, I’m Flight. And Flight is God.”

A memoir by an engineer could tend to be dry, but Chris Kraft keeps things lively. He has a tough job on his hands juggling roomfuls of Type A personalities and monster egos (including his own), but somehow manages to help build a winning formula from the ground up.

I particularly enjoyed Section III: the Gemini Missions. Although Gemini often seems to be overlooked in the rush to the Apollo program and the moon, Gemini laid the scientific groundwork for later successes. Highlights include the first American spacewalk by Ed White on Gemini 4, the two week endurance flight of Frank Borman and Jim Lovell aboard Gemini 7 (where they also act as a rendezvous target for Gemini 6A), and Gemini 8, where Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott very nearly die. Kraft takes us on a guided tour behind the scenes of each mission and we end up appreciating the people as well as the science behind everything all the more.

Kraft peppers his memoir with personal comments and opinions, which make “Flight” especially interesting. Kraft praises many, especially the incomparable Bob Gilruth. . “No man of space did more or received less credit than Robert R. Gilruth…. Why no monument to [him] yet exists is beyond my understanding.” Chris Kraft is a man who also holds grudges, however. Kraft goes into his personal dislike for Wernher von Braun. “In many ways, von Braun followed his own agenda and always seemed rankled that he couldn’t run the whole show.” Kraft points out that von Braun had very little to do with the Gemini missions, although he does give him credit for his work and vision on the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo program. More notably, Kraft repeatedly attacks Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter for his performance in the Aurora 7 spacecraft. Alan Shepherd, the Capcom for Carpenter’s flight, also relates the difficulties of dealing with Carpenter while in orbit in Neal Thompson’s biography “Light This Candle,” but Kraft seems to make the whole thing against Carpenter personal. Kraft effectively prevented Carpenter from ever flying in space again and even says, “Scott Carpenter was our bad example. He had slipped through the process without a college degree and virtually no test pilot experience.”

Controversy aside, “Flight” is an intensely interesting, salty account of the U.S. Space Program from its beginnings through Apollo and beyond. It is well written and brings life to the science, technology, and the people of the U.S. Space Program from behind closed doors. “Flight” should be at or near the top of any space buff’s list of books to read (along with Andrew Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon," "Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys" by Michael Collins, and “Lost Moon” (Apollo 13) by Jim Lovell).

Special note: one additional tidbit I personally found interesting was that one of the reporters Chris Kraft mentions as covering the space program, Martin Caidin, wrote the novel which was turned into one of my favorite television series of my youth, “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all those who sat up and watched Neil Armstrong walk on the Moon. Readable and utterly enthralling.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an engaging book. Kraft is a wonderful story teller. His story is inspiring and it's amazing to see the impact he had on history. True American legend and hero.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't grow up during the space race. Everything I know about it comes from the movies Apollo 13 and October Sky, and what my dad tells me. I randomly decided to read this book because it seemed interesting. It became my very favorite biography. I just finished reading it again - this time with my husband.

The book is written by Christopher Kraft. He was NASA's first flight director (in the movie Apollo 13 Gene Kranz is the flight director - if that helps). He was with NASA before they even had the word astronaut. He vividly describes the challenges that they faced in trying to get man into space - let alone the moon.

The best part of the book is the way he pulls no punches when describing certain decisions and events. My husband and I often laughed out loud at the way he would describe a failed procedure. We could tell that he really cared about doing everything correctly and safely, and he often got frustrated with the people who didn't feel the same way.

All the "famous" (meaning people I've heard of)NASA people are discussed, and Kraft's perspective is, as with everything else, entertaining. He didn't particularly like Werner Von Braun, he had personality conflicts with John Glenn even before NASA, he helped decide that Neil Armstrong should be the first man on the moon, etc. He also spends a considerable amount of time giving credit to all the unsung heroes of the space program. He especially highlights the contributions of his mentor and boss, Bob Gilruth. The book is in someways a biography for Gilruth as much as Kraft.

I am very interested in operations management so this book was a treasure trove of how to solve problems. He talks about the things they learned along the way - NASA's successes and the failures. He goes into detail about the way they continued their successes and learned from the failures.

The book is really reader friendly. Kraft brings the details of rocket science down to a level where anyone can understand.

[Sarah Eckert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Joy gave this book to me. Great book! Recommended for anyone interested in space, the space program and NASA in particular. Really gives a behind the scenes look at one of the most noticeable roles in NASA Mission Control: The Flight Director, or "Flight."

[Rod Pyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't know the space race until you read Chris Kraft...

[Glennchuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the biographies and autobiographies I've read about NASA/Apollo people, this is my favorite so far. Chris Kraft was NASA's original flight director—the one who runs the show in mission control during missions. In fact, he led the effort to create mission control and all of the policies and procedures that make it what it is today. Read this if you want details behind the legendary events and people of NASA's race to the moon. Kraft was an integral part of the process from pre-NASA days through the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs and beyond. The book was published in 2001, after many other books by and about Apollo people, and I was fascinated when Kraft addressed discrepancies among the various accounts of key events. See, we Apollo geeks always wanna know how it REALLY went down. No doubt, Kraft displays the Saturn V-sized ego that most of his colleagues shared (and probably needed to succeed in that fish bowl). But he also gets across how humbling this great adventure was, and the wonder of it all. James Shefter, a veteran journalist who covered NASA and mission control for many years, did an excellent job of turning this memoir into a solid piece of writing.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the better behind the scenes narratives about the Space Race and the birth of NASA. What really impressed me was Chris Kraft discussing his early days as an aeronautical engineer and the amount of pure mathematics he was required to do, with a slide rule as they had no calculators or computers in the 1940s. I found it interesting a few pages later when he discussed his move to the brand new NASA and what was appealing was that he'd be able to get back to engineering and away from all of the mathematics! This all led to a long conversation with my father who has a degree in civil engineering and a career as a plant engineer. He wonders how many of today's engineers would be able to "do" engineering the old school way without computers and calculators. It's an interesting question.

I also liked how Kraft didn't pull punches when discussing personalities or his own shortcomings. I didn't feel as if he was constantly trying to present himself in a favorable light.

[Alysia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book about the space program. Chris Kraft was at the right place to experience some of the best of America's space program. This book is well written and explains, not just the events, but his thoughts and decision making process on many key decisions. While reading it, you feel like you are there also. This is one of the few books that covers the Mercury and Gemini space programs in detail by someone who was there. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the space program. Another great thing about this book is that it is written in a conversational style and not overly technical like other books I have read about the space program. This makes the book a good one to read, even for people that don't have tons of technical knowledge.

[Morgan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting non-fiction. I love learning more about the space race and the different missions.

[Rick Denatale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a LOT of memoirs from the early U.S. Space Program.

It's clear that there was a bit of a division between Kraft and his flight controllers and the astronaut corps.

Kraft had his heroes and villains among the astronauts, among the latter was definitely Scott Carpenter, if you read "Flight" you should also read Carpenter's "For Spacious Skies" to get the other view. I think that Kraft was the astronauts as people who should just follow the dictates of "Flight", which many of the astronauts had a hard time with. Another example of this was his decision to delay telling John Glenn about the indication on the ground that his landing bag had deployed, over the objectives of capsule communicator (and astronaut) Alan Shepard.

You'll see Craft's view of Kraft's less favored astronauts reflected in books like Gene Kranz's "Failure is not an option", while the astronauts didn't see it that way.

[Adam Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

First rate narrative of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions from the man who was the original Flight Controller. Chris Kraft was in at the formation of Nasa from the Space Task Group under Bob Gilruth in 1958 and was the designer of Mission Control, its functions and procedures. He later became the Flight Operations Director and then towards the end of Apollo the head of the Manned Spacecraft Centre at Houston. The descriptions and inside information on the early missions is fascinating in its detailed depiction of the problems encountered on almost every mission, problems which had life or death consequences for the astronauts concerned. He does not hold back on criticism of the US government with regards to its commitment to space exploration and budget cuts nor on individuals within Nasa including the astronauts themselves. One of the best books on the US space programme up to the end of Apollo.

[Dorian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris Kraft's memoirs covers the early history of NASA from someone directly responsible for getting so much of the manned space program done, but still close to the management and bureaucratic side of the agency. As such it gives a fairly unique perspective that's both technical, looking at how NASA solved their constant challenges being pioneers in spaceflight, and political, acclaiming and critiquing the management side.

If you're interested in space history this is a must read from an often-overlooked central figure of the US manned space program. It can be a bit dry at parts, but is full of great behind the scenes details of what went on in mission control and behind the scenes. Kraft tells it as he remembers, and isn't afraid to call out those he feels did more harm than good. The book is full of his passion for what he sees as America's finest hour, and highly critical of what NASA has lost since the end of the Apollo program.

[Mumbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kraft did a great job... and not just on the book. :)

I don't think it's as classic a book as Chaikin's _A Man On The Moon_. On the other hand, it's just as essential, if you have any interest in space flight. I loved hearing about the origins of the space program. I wouldn't minimize the astronauts' role, but there's so much more. Any one book, including this, can only show a tiny fraction of something as big as Apollo. But it's hard to think of a more essential perspective than Mission Control's.

And it certainly is well written.

I came out liking and admiring Kraft. Delighted that at the moment in 2016, he and Gene Kranz are still alive. Kranz's book should be my next on this topic.

For context, it's probably good to read this before _A Man On The Moon_. But however you go about it, I can't recommend that book strongly enough.

[Stan McCown · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who has read about or remembers the U.S. space program, or wishes to become familiar with it in retrospect, this book is a must. Chris Kraft was the man behind the early launches, not just from a console in a block house but in the planning and the training of crews, and this account is the ultimate insider’s story. Kraft clears up a number of questions and controversies about the events that made up the manned space program, and in a refreshing, frank way, he holds nothing back in extolling or criticizing the people he knew, worked with, and directed, and some of his opinions are surprising. Even those who believe they know the history of the manned space program well will find much to appreciate in this work.

[Jon Cotton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, "Flight", and Gene Kranz's "Failure is Not an Option" are now two of my most treasured books. Stunning how it took me ~17 years to discover them. Man in space is incredible. Getting to the moon, incredible. Landing six times, incredible. Humans leaving our world, landing on another, then returning safely is just mind boggling. Doing it all from nothing within 11 years is astounding.

Watch Apollo 13 the movie and think about how that really happened. That's a taste. That was only one mission. Kraft was there for all of them. I'll read astronaut biographies next, but reading this from Kraft who invented Mission Control and was there leading Mercury, Gemini and Apollo is a very precious perspective.

[K De · Rating 5 out of 5]

This autobiography by Christopher Kraft is concise and matter of fact about the his life and his career in NASA. There are many interesting vignettes he writes about during the time before NASA and during his years in NASA. The largest part of the autobiography is about his time during the creation of manned space flight and the space race against the USSR. It was a blazing time for space and technology that was a national challenge set forth by President Kennedy.

I found it fascinating to look behind the scenes look into how this nation's scientists, engineers answered the challenges versus the public view by newspapers, television, and NASA public relations.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just an insider's account but one of the core team who grew and led the moonshot from it's beginnings. Of course there is enough swagger and ego, and a handful of people who get scarred. Yet it's astounding to see the raw attitude and personality of one of the people who drove success on the ground. Two interesting elements are how much of the Apollo programme was built on the earlier expertise with aircraft testing as much as with Mercury and Gemini, and with having a clear vision of the requirements and resources to implement them. Absolutely worth reading.

[Velimir Randic · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent look at America's space program by one of the principal contributors, Chris Kraft, NASA's first flight director and man on the scene for all the important Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo flights. Kraft doesn't pull any punches about the Apollo 1 fire, misbehaviour in the astronaut corps, and the unfulfilled promise of lunar exploration after Nixon cancelled the last three missions. A remarkable memoir of America's finest hour.

[Andrey Sudarikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of the enjoyable adventures one could take. A glimpse into motivation, problem solving and brainstorming of the first generations of brilliant mind that worked on putting humans into space is a treat! I highly recommend this volume to any person who is interested in one of the greatest endeavors of Mankind.

[Philip Hollenback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an absolutely fantastic memoir from one of the key players at the beginning of the US space program. I particularly enjoyed how Chris Kraft was not afraid to talk about how he really felt about other people. In particular, he singles out astronaut Scott Carpenter as completely incompetent. I got the feeling from reading this book that Kraft was not an easy man to work for.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read Flight six or seven times, and it has blown me away each time. Kraft's engaging first person account of the space race from its inception reminds me of how ingenious and tenacious Americans can be. Kraft's memoir is easy to read and fascinating.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book which recounts the life of Chris Kraft. Kraft takes us through the formative years of NASA. This book and Failure is Not an Option by Gene Kranz provide a definitive picture of life in Mission Control during the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo era of spaceflight.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kraft's story is amazing. He holds nothing back and speaks his mind about individuals he likes and does not like. The amount of work, stress, and uncertainty that permeated the manned space program was more complex than I imagined. Kraft tells the story superbly.

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

So amazing to be reading this at the time I visited Space Center Houston and touring the Kraft Mission Control building. Great read, makes me want to learn more about Gemini.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was six years old when the USSR launched sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite. I was too young to appreciate the politics of it or feel the fears that “the commies” were going to be dropping bombs on us from space or to worry the the U.S. was falling behind in science. I just knew that someone had done something right out of the science fiction books and sent an actual rocket into space, put a satellite into orbit, and was transmitting a signal from hundreds of miles in space. That was absolutely the coolest thing I could imagine.

Twelve years later the U.S. landed two men on the moon and brought them back to earth safely. By then I had followed all of the Mercury and Gemini missions and space flights were happening on a regular basis but landing on the moon was something altogether more amazing.

I cannot impress upon those of you that were not alive in the 1960s how incredible this feat was given the technology of the time. I listened to the Mercury missions on my pocket transistor radio and watched the first men walk on the moon on a black and white TV. In math and science classes most people still used slide rules and computers were room sized devices.

Reading Flight by Chris Kraft brought me back to all of the excitement of those early years of space flight. I remember seeing Kraft on TV and hearing him talk about the challenges of putting men into space. In this book he takes you behind the scenes and shows you how terrifying, and amazing, it actually was.

I have no idea what someone who did not live through this time in history will think of this book. For me it brought back so many memories. I remember the excitement of Shepard’s first flight, the tension around Glenn’s heat shield, the amazement at the first Gemini space walk, and the horror of Grissom, White, and Chaffee burning up in Apollo 1. I think Kraft has done a great job telling about the history, the politics, the science, the personalities, the successes, and the failures of these early years of space exploration.

If you grew up following NASA you will love this book. If it was before your time there is a lot of history here that you might be interested in. The “race to the moon” is clearly one of the most amazing stories of last century and Kraft is definitely the person to tell the tale.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s no secret that library bookshelves sag under the weight of books about the space program. Those who haven’t read this might argue that it’s just another one of the uncountable many. It’s not. It’s much more.

It’s a chronological history of space flight and the author’s role in it, but it humanizes the program in ways many books don’t. If you read this, you’ll learn fascinating facts about the program you either never knew before or had forgotten. Most of us, for example, think of John Glen as the affable boy scout-type guy, and he probably mostly was. But Kraft writes about their early meetings in which the two experienced toe-to-toe uneasy moments. He writes with real contempt about the flight of Scott Carpenter, who, according to Kraft, wasted far too much fuel chasing the famous space butterflies that early astronauts discovered. Kraft takes credit for helping ground Carpenter from future flights.

Kraft writes compellingly about difficulties with fuel cells in the Gemini program. You’ll recall Neil Armstrong’s excellence in a Gemini spaceship that wouldn’t stop spinning. You’ll read about a subsequent space walk in which fog that resulted from breathing temporarily blinded an astronaut It’s all because he had to breathe into his face plate. Those of us who have worn paper masks for nearly two years can relate to foggy glasses if we use them.

You’ll read Kraft’s fascinating take on the infamous Apollo 1 fire in January 1967. Kraft’s account of Congress’s determination not to turn the disaster into a political event impressed me. It actually used restraint and let NASA carry out its investigations and report openly to the Congress. I don’t pretend to be a congressional expert, but it strikes me that no such restraint would happen today.

The book follows the Apollo program through the sweet success of Apollo 11 and the bitterness of a prematurely ended program with Apollo 17. The epilogue is thoughtful and worth your time even if you don’t read the other parts of the book.

[Aaron Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked this up, I wondered if it would try to tell the story of every single manned US mission from Mercury to Apollo. Surely not, I thought -- it'll have to skip some of the boring parts. Turns out there aren't any boring parts. Kraft masterfully weaves together the human and engineering stories behind each flight and presents each in the light of its significance for the country and the world.

This book is steeped in Kraft's pride for NASA's lean early days, but he is remarkably candid in decrying the beaurocratic growth and politics that he feels caught up with the agency at the beginning of Apollo. He pulls no punches in airing grievances against certain colleagues, and lauding those, particularily Bob Gilruth, who he feels have been insufficently recognized by history.

There are some fascinating technical details in here, including the first clear explanation I've read of the root cause of Apollo 13's crisis.

Kraft probably knew more about early US spaceflight than anyone. Because this book was written decades after the end of Apollo, it benefits from Kraft's many years of reflection on all of the incidents described. It's clear that while writing this, he remembered them all as if it was yesterday.

Sadly, the women in this book are all "wives." There is no mention of "computers" like Katherine Johnson. I wonder whether Kraft was unaware of their work, undervalued it, or simply neglected to write about those particular american heroes. Nor is there any mention of Margaret Hamilton or other female programmers. My generous interpretation is that the system of oppression kept Kraft from working directly with these people, and so they just weren't part of His Life in Mission Control.

[David Gramley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the inside story of the greatest engineering feat of a century full of great achievements. The author is a unsung hero, and he introduces us to many other unsung heroes. He also introduces us to many of the public heroes, the astronauts, who made sacrifices putting their own lives at risk. Chris Craft is honest and direct. He saw it all. He shares it openly.

As an engineer, I very much respect the work of the people in the space program. I had projects lasting for six months, which were challenging. But, the magnitude here is out of the world, to say it literally. Craft shares a lot of details, and I love it. They were committed, and brilliant, and they constantly strove to get better. This book is a tribute to all of those people.