HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — The Hampton History Museum debuted a new exhibit celebrating local NASA hero Chris Kraft.
Chris Kraft: Hampton’s Unlikely Space Hero shares the story of his legacy as a Hampton-native, successful engineer at NASA Langley Research Center and central role in the manned space flight program.
Kraft’s daughter contacted the Hampton History Museum to see if they were interested in accepting his personal memorabilia after her father died.
Curator Allen Hoilman combed through 500 pieces, selecting 50 that highlight Kraft’s hometown connection. Other items went to national and Texas-based exhibits.
Kraft’s family donated a significant collection of artifacts from his NASA work and personal memorabilia from his life as a native of Hampton and Phoebus.
NASA loaned items and photographs, including models that were used in wind tunnels.
To create a full story, Hoilman pieced together Kraft’s personal memorabilia, NASA artifacts and photographs.
“Not just his accomplishments in the space program, but it’s about Chris Kraft growing up in Hampton and his life as a school kid here,” Hoilman said.
Kraft was born in Phoebus on Feb. 28, 1924. He went to Hampton High School and Virginia Polytechnical Institute.
Hoilman talks about Kraft’s time at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the clip, below.
With his degree in hand, he started working at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in 1945.
Kraft died in 2019. On Feb. 28, the 100th anniversary of Kraft’s birth, the museum opened the exhibit to members and guests, celebrating the Hampton native’s life and achievements.
Hampton was important to Kraft, evident by his own histories published in books and in recordings, according to Hoilman.
“Hampton is his hometown,” Hoilman said, “and they wanted us to have the artifacts and images and the storytelling to save that story and tell that story of his hometown.”
Photos of Chris Kraft from the exhibit
Activity in the Mercury Control Center at Cape Canaveral during MR-3. Photo courtesy of Hampton History Museum. 
Chris Kraft (left) and John Glenn (center) guide President John F. Kennedy (right) through Mercury Control Center on February 23, 1962. Photograph by Bill Taub. Courtesy of NASA and Myra and Ron Specht. Photo courtesy of Hampton History Museum. 
Phoebus native Christopher C. Kraft, Jr. at Mission Control for Project Gemini, ca. 1965. Courtesy of NASA. Photo courtesy of Hampton History Museum. 
Christopher Kraft, flight director during Project Mercury, works at his console inside the Flight Control area at Mercury Mission Control. Photo courtesy of Hampton History Museum. 
Bill Taub with Mercury astronaut John Glenn at Launch Complex 14 (LC-14), Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mercury Atlas 6 (MA-6) spacecraft is in the background. This photo was made in early 1962 as preparations were underway for the launch of MA-6, the first American orbital mission. Courtesy of NASA and Myra and Ron Specht. Photo courtesy of Hampton History Museum. Photo taken by NASA photographer Bill Taub.
This is just a sample of the photos of Kraft displayed in the exhibit. There are also an array of artifacts from his family and NASA.
Some of the photos came from NASA photographer Bill Taub. Hear more in the clip, below.
The exhibit highlights his vital role in NASA history getting us to the moon and the development of NASA Mission Control, but it also discuss his growing up in Phoebus and his life in Hampton.
The exhibit will be at the museum through March 2, 2025.
Click here to view more information about the museum and exhibits on-site.
