The control of a spacecraft or rocket using built-in computers on the craft or uplinks from ground stations. This includes control of the flight path and of the spacecraft's operational equipment. Many flight control commands are initiated by the space mission's flight director and carried out by a team of flight controllers, who have responsibility for one or more aspects of a space flight. Orbiting space shuttle and space station astronauts have regular conferences with flight controllers in Houston, Texas, and Moscow, Russia.

Known informally as ‘Flight’, a flight director is responsible for all major decisions during a flight, such as shortening a mission because of problems. Decisions made by the Flight are relayed to astronauts by the capsule communicator.

NASA's first flight director (1961–83) was Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr.