Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. (February 28, 1924 – July 22, 2019)

(AP) – Behind America’s late leap into orbit and triumphant small step on the
moon was the agile mind and guts-of-steel of Chris Kraft, making split-second decisions that propelled the nation to once unimaginable heights.

Kraft, the creator and longtime leader of NASA’s Mission Control, died  today
in Houston, just two days after the 50th anniversary of what was his and
NASA’s crowning achievement: Apollo 11’s moon landing. He was 95.

Neil Armstrong, the first man-on-the-moon, told The Associated Press in 2011, “Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. never flew in space, but "held the success
or failure of American human spaceflight in his hands."

Then-President Ronald Reagan (center) being briefed by Chris Kraft (right) in Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center in Houston,
in November 1981. (NASA via AP, File)

   
 
TIM MAGUIRE
   

Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface. 

First footprint on the Moon (left) was that of astronaut Neil
Armstrong (right).

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin Jr. poses for a photograph beside the U.S. flag.
(Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP)

CARLATA BRADLEY

The Eagle prepares to land: Photo shows Lunar Module ‘Eagle’ photographed from Command Module ‘Columbia’.

The Command Service Module Columbia.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 made thirty orbits of the moon which allowed
them to view the landing site: the southern Sea of Tranquility, one of the
most suitably flat areas. This area had confirmed by the Apollo 10 ‘dress
rehearsal’ mission in which the crew captured vital film footage and photos 
while orbiting the moon.

ROSS SIMPSON

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, FL,
and began the first manned mission to land on the moon.

Nasa astronauts from left: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.

Buzz Aldrin (Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.) became 89 in January.

(FoxNews) – A number of Apollo 11 artifacts that were owned by Buzz Aldrin
(above) will be up for auction at Sotheby’s later this month.

The Apollo 11 lunar module pilot has consigned 11 items for auction, which
include pages from the mission’s flown flight plan and flown data file. They
include a “Mission Rules Summary; from the Apollo 11 data file, which
details the steps to be followed following a spacecraft malfunction. The
sheet has a pre-sale estimate of $30,000 to $50,000.

The first and last pages of the flown Apollo 11 Flight Plan are also up for
auction. The first page, which begins with the words “LIFTOFF,” has a pre-
sale estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. The final page describes the activities
to be performed during the last 2 hours of the mission and has a pre-sale
estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. All of the sheets in the auction are signed
by Aldrin.