NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4

thumbnail of NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4
This record is featured in “To the Moon Interviews.” This record is featured in “GBH Archives Open Vault.”
Series
NOVA
Episode
To the Moon
Raw Footage
Interview with Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4
Producing Organization
WGBH Educational Foundation
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-15-f76639md8w
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Description
Program Description
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.
Raw Footage 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.
Created Date
1998
Asset type
Raw Footage
Genres
Interview
Topics
History
Technology
Science
Subjects
American History; Gemini; apollo; moon; Space; astronaut
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:23:25
Embed Code
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Credits
Interviewee: Kraft, Christopher Columbus, 1924-
Interviewee: Kraft, Christopher Columbus, 1924-
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: cpb-aacip-845d235b9fa (Filename)
Format: Digital Betacam
Generation: Original
Duration: 0:23:25
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Citations
Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4 ,” 1998, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed September 15, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-f76639md8w.
MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4 .” 1998. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. September 15, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-f76639md8w>.
APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4 . Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-f76639md8w