Robert Samuel Kraemer (October 21, 1928 – August 20, 2013) was an American aerospace engineer who served as Director of Planetary Programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1971 to 1976.
He then moved back to California to earn a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering (Rocket Propulsion Option) from Caltech in 1951.
[3] Kraemer left Rocketdyne to join The Aeronutronic Division of the Ford Motor Company (prime contractor for the Ranger series of lunar landers) in the Fall of 1961, where he was promoted to chief engineer for Space Systems.
Kraemer joined NASA in 1967 to manage the Voyager Mars Surface Laboratory, a program that was canceled within months of his arrival.
In June 1970, Kraemer replaced Don Hearth as the Director of Planetary Programs, and was officially given the title in March 1971.