Aug 27

Space Rocket History #127 – Apollo Mission Control: Christopher Columbus Kraft – Part 1

Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. was Born on February 28, 1924 in a town that no longer exist, Phoebus, Virginia. The town has now been engulfed by Hampton, Virginia. Kraft was named after his father, Christopher Columbus Kraft, who was born in New York City in 1892 near Columbus Circle at 8th ave. and 59th street.

Chris Kraft & Robert Gilruth

Chris Kraft & Robert Gilruth

Chris Kraft & Wally Schirra

Chris Kraft & Wally Schirra

Kraft at his Mercury Console

Kraft at his Mercury Console

Sep 19

Space Rocket History #30 – Godspeed John Glenn – Mercury-Atlas 6 – Friendship 7 – Part 1

“I am in a big mass of some very small particles, they’re brilliantly lit up like they’re luminescent. I never saw anything like it! They round a little: they’re coming by the capsule and they look like little stars. A whole shower of them coming by. They swirl around the capsule and go in front of the window and they’re all brilliantly lighted.”  John Glenn – Friendship 7

John Glenn

John Glenn

Glenn Enters

Glenn Enters

Launch

Launch

Glenn in Space

Glenn in Space

View from Capsule

View from Capsule

By Dave

By Dave

Sep 12

Space Rocket History #29 – Mercury-Atlas 5 With Enos

Following the successful suborbital missions of Allan Shepard and Gus Grissom, NASA believed the Mercury capsule was ready for an orbital mission.  But, there was a problem, the Redstone booster did not have the power to place the Mercury capsule into orbit.  The Atlas booster had the power to put the capsule in orbit but not the confidence of NASA.  By September of 1961 Four launches of the mercury-atlas had been made with only a 50 percent success rate…

Tribute to Space Chimps

Tribute to Chimps

Enos

Enos

Atlas Missle

Atlas Missle

Launch

Launch

Mercury 5

Mercury 5

By Dave

By Dave