Nasa honours space pioneer
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The NASA sign at the Kennedy Space Center visitors complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Picture: Carlos Barria/REUTERS The NASA sign at the Kennedy Space Center visitors complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Picture: Carlos Barria/REUTERS
Houston - Nasa's first flight director says he regrets that the shuttle programme is coming to an end because he believes it's the finest spacecraft ever built.
Christopher C. Kraft said after a Johnson Space Centre ceremony honouring him on Thursday that he thinks space shuttles could be used for another 30 years and could take people to the moon or even Mars.
The Houston space centre unveiled its new name for Mission Control: the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Centre.
The 87-year-old Kraft was Nasa's first flight director for human spaceflight and helped create Mission Control. He also directed the Mercury and Gemini flights and helped put men on the moon during the Apollo programme. He went on to serve as director of Johnson Space Centre from 1972 to 1982. - Sapa-AP