John Kraus, the Satellite Beach-based launch photographer extraordinaire, announced that he has a role on Jared Isaacman’s staff as a Special Communications Assistant to the NASA Administrator.

I’m humbled and energized to bring my passion for photography and storytelling to NASA and work under NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman as Special Communications Assistant to the Administrator.

With my focus now fully on working alongside the best and brightest at NASA, my independent media coverage and for-hire work comes to an end. Thank you all for following along over the years! Be sure to follow NASA’s channels to see great content from across the agency.

I have deep respect for NASA’s communicators and creatives, individuals whose work I’ve followed and admired for a long time. I’m profoundly grateful for the opportunity to work with them to help continue sharing NASA’s story with the widest audience possible and inspiring the next generation to look up to the stars. Under Administrator Isaacman’s leadership, we will do just that.

John Kraus
Special Communications Assistant to the Administrator
NASA

Kraus is well-qualified for this role. While he cut his teeth as an award winning launch and space photographer, John was also the Content Director for the Polaris Program, which saw the first privately conducted EVA in Earth orbit. Additionally, Kraus was responsible for photographing campaign milestones and sharing the highly popular Polaris story via social media.

Presumably the role starts immediately and that at a good time as the agency prepares to ramp up its launch campaign for the Artemis II mission, mankind’s first foray past Earth orbit in fifty-four years.

First recognized nationally in 2016 when Kraus was sixteen years old and still in high school, in the past ten year he’s covered 385 launches globally, including human spaceflight: training, launch, and splashdown/recovery operations.

Kraus has also photographed and reported on static fires, engine test fire campaigns and zero gravity flights. When he’s not covering space, you might find him in the rear seat of a high-performance fighter aircraft, capturing air-to-air shots. Kraus has spent time in an L-39, Alpha Jet and a Russian-made MiG-29.

While he now has a new role, you can take a look at John’s work on his website, the Polaris Progam Flickr page, the Polaris Program official website, his personal Instagram and of course many major publications worldwide.

Talk of Titusville has reached out to Kraus for a comment about his new role and we will add them when he has time to reply.