NOVA; Interview with Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4 : To the Moon
NOVA; Interview with Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4 : To the Moon
Description:
Christopher Kraft, NASA engineer and manager partly responsible for creating NASA's Mission Control Center, is interviewed about various Apollo missions. Kraft discusses Apollo 8 and the decision to orbit around the moon, why Apollo 10 did not go to the moon, issues with Mass Concentration calculations, the lack of coverage of Apollo 12 in the media, the scientific capabilities of space flight, the decision of where to land Apollo 12, and the injection of science into Apollo 17 with the presence of Jack Schmitt. The interview ends with Kraft's overall summation of Apollo as one of the biggest technological feats of the 20th century. This remarkably crafted program covers the full range of participants in the Apollo project, from the scientists and engineers who promoted bold ideas about the nature of the Moon and how to get there, to the young geologists who chose the landing sites and helped train the crews, to the astronauts who actually went - not once or twice, but six times, each to a more demanding and interesting location on the Moon's surface. "To The Moon" includes unprecedented footage, rare interviews, and presents a magnificent overview of the history of man and the Moon. To the Moon aired as NOVA episode 2610 in 1999.
