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NASA History
A look through the years
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Beginnings
S NASA was created by congress on October 1, 1958 as a way
of competing with the Soviet Union at the time in the race
for space exploration.
S NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
S In 1957 the Soviets launched the first satellite into space
named Sputnik 1, in 1958, the United States followed suit
and launched Explorer 1.
S “A direct result of the Sputnik crisis, NASA began operations on
October 1, 1958, absorbing into itself the earlier National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics intact: its 8,000 employees,
an annual budget of $100 million, three major research
laboratories-Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames
Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion
Laboratory-and two smaller test facilities. It quickly incorporated
other organizations into the new agency, notably the space science
group of the Naval Research Laboratory in Maryland, the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory managed by the California Institute of
Technology for the Army, and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency
in Huntsville, Alabama, where Wernher von Braun's team of
engineers were engaged in the development of large rockets.
Eventually NASA created other Centers and today it has ten
located around the country.” – NASA History page
Major Space Programs
S Mercury's single astronaut program (1961-1963)
S Project Gemini (flights during 1965-1966)
S Project Apollo (flights during 1968-1972)
Other Programs
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Robotic missions to the Moon Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter), Venus
(Pioneer Venus), Mars (Mariner 4, Viking 1 and 2), and the outer planets
(Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2).
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Remote-sensing Earth satellites for information gathering (Landsat satellites
for environmental monitoring).
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Applications satellites for communications (Echo 1, TIROS, and Telstra) and
weather monitoring.
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An orbital workshop for astronauts, Skylab.
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A reusable spacecraft for traveling to and from Earth orbit, the Space Shuttle.
Mercury Programs
S Mercury’s goal was to put a man in space and orbit Earth.
S On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first
American to fly into space.
S John H. Glenn Jr. became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit
the Earth on February 20, 1962.
S Project Mercury has six flights all together.
Gemini Program
S Project Gemini continued what Mercury's program has
accomplished.
S Gemini's had 10 flights and provided NASA scientists and
engineers with more data on weightlessness, perfected
reentry and splashdown procedures, and demonstrated
rendezvous and docking in space.
S Edward H. White, Jr., became the first U.S. astronaut to
conduct a spacewalk on Gemini 4.
Apollo Program
S Objective: Put a man on the moon and explore the moon.
S John F. Kennedy said, "I believe that this nation should
commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is
out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him
safely to Earth.”
S NASA spent 11 years trying to put a man on the moon. It
cost the program 25.4 Billion dollars.
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In 1967, one of the Apollo
capsules caught fire and caused
the death of three inside.
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Apollo 7 and 8 orbited the moon.
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"That's one small step for [a]
man, one giant leap for
mankind.” – Neil Armstrong
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Apollo 11 landed on the moon
with Neil Armstrong by being
the first man to walk on the
moon.
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Apollo 11 – Neil Armstrong,
Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins.
Apollo 13
S The Apollo 13 mission of April 1970 had a tragedy struck
after an oxygen tank burst midway through the journey to
the Moon.
S Although this mission never landed on the Moon, it showed
that NASA could adapt to the unforeseen technical
difficulties in human spaceflight.
Future
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After six years NASA returned to
human spaceflight in 1981, with
the Space Shuttle.
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January 28, 1986 a leak in the
joints of one of two Solid Rocket
Boosters attached to the
Challenger caused the tank to
explode 73 seconds after launch,
killing all 7 crew members.
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Two years later, on September
29, 1988, the Shuttle returned to
flight and NASA flew 87
successful missions afterwards
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The U.S. and other international in
1993 built a joint facility that
became known formally as the
International Space Station (ISS)
to conduct experiments and space
exploration.
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On February 1, 2003 the Columbia
orbiter was returning to Earth from
it’s mission and it disintegrated 15
minutes before it was to have
landed killing all who were on
board.
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NASA is continuing it’s efforts to
explore the depths of space by
pursuing to land on Mars next
and find future galaxies.