Posted on Jul 29, 2015
NASA was created on July 29, 1958 - What is your favorite moment from their history?
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On this day in 1958, the U.S. Congress passes legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian agency responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space. NASA has since sponsored space expeditions, both human and mechanical, that have yielded vital information about the solar system and universe. It has also launched numerous earth-orbiting satellites that have been instrumental in everything from weather forecasting to navigation to global communications.
NASA was created in response to the Soviet Union’s October 4, 1957 launch of its first satellite, Sputnik I. The 183-pound, basketball-sized satellite orbited the earth in 98 minutes. The Sputnik launch caught Americans by surprise and sparked fears that the Soviets might also be capable of sending missiles with nuclear weapons from Europe to America. The United States prided itself on being at the forefront of technology, and, embarrassed, immediately began developing a response, signaling the start of the U.S.-Soviet space race.
On November 3, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik II,which carrieda dog named Laika. In December, America attempted to launch a satellite of its own, called Vanguard, but it exploded shortly after takeoff. On January 31, 1958, things went better with Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite to successfully orbit the earth. In July of that year, Congress passed legislation officially establishing NASA from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and other government agencies, and confirming the country’s commitment to winning the space race. In May 1961, President John F. Kennedydeclared thatAmerica should put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission achieved that goal and made history when astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon, saying “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
NASA has continued to make great advances in space exploration since the first moonwalk, including playing a major part in the construction of the International Space Station. The agency has also suffered tragic setbacks, however, such as the disasters that killed the crews of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986 and the Columbia space shuttle in 2003. In 2004, President George Bush challenged NASA to return to the moon by 2020 and establish “an extended human presence” there that could serve as a launching point for “human missions to Mars and to worlds beyond.”
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
NASA was created in response to the Soviet Union’s October 4, 1957 launch of its first satellite, Sputnik I. The 183-pound, basketball-sized satellite orbited the earth in 98 minutes. The Sputnik launch caught Americans by surprise and sparked fears that the Soviets might also be capable of sending missiles with nuclear weapons from Europe to America. The United States prided itself on being at the forefront of technology, and, embarrassed, immediately began developing a response, signaling the start of the U.S.-Soviet space race.
On November 3, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik II,which carrieda dog named Laika. In December, America attempted to launch a satellite of its own, called Vanguard, but it exploded shortly after takeoff. On January 31, 1958, things went better with Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite to successfully orbit the earth. In July of that year, Congress passed legislation officially establishing NASA from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and other government agencies, and confirming the country’s commitment to winning the space race. In May 1961, President John F. Kennedydeclared thatAmerica should put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission achieved that goal and made history when astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon, saying “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
NASA has continued to make great advances in space exploration since the first moonwalk, including playing a major part in the construction of the International Space Station. The agency has also suffered tragic setbacks, however, such as the disasters that killed the crews of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986 and the Columbia space shuttle in 2003. In 2004, President George Bush challenged NASA to return to the moon by 2020 and establish “an extended human presence” there that could serve as a launching point for “human missions to Mars and to worlds beyond.”
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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Space
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CW3 (Join to see) I really liked everything about the whole space program. I don't think we should have given it up for a minute. I think we should have kept going and made more trips back to the moon and colonized it like we did the Space Station. I think there are minerals and other resources we could be using from other planets. Just my Opinion!
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CW3 (Join to see)
COL Mikel J. Burroughs I really want to see a person set foot on Mars on my lifetime. With NASA closing down, I don't see that happening. A colony on the moon would have been fantastic as well. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
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Although I wasn't alive when this happened, it has to be landing on the moon. Hands down.
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SPC George Rudenko
NASA technology developed advanced medical scanning like MRI and CT. How do you count the number of lives saved?
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CW3 (Join to see)
I have a few amazing inventions to add to the conversation, compliments of NASA:
Velcro
Yes, NASA has used Velcro in its missions. No, they didn't invent it. A swiss engineer named George de Mestral came up with it in the late 1940s. Answer: Myth
Baby formula
NASA once gave a contract to Marietta Laboratories to experiment with microalgae as a kind of three-in-one food source, oxygen engine, and an organic waste disposal toolkit. The space food work didn't pan out, but Marietta would give us the technology to make nutritional supplements for infant formula. Answer: NASA Miracle
Tang
Tang's NASA link dates back to John Glenn's 1962 Friendship 7 mission. The storied astronaut did drink Tang in space, but it was invented for consumers, not the space program. Answer: Myth
Truck fairings
It all started when Edwin Saltzman was riding his bike. Whenever big trucks passed, he'd get hit with a mighty wallop of air. Since he worked at NASA, which has made a study of wind resistance on aircraft, it was pretty easy to design a more aerodynamic truck. And by the late '70s his designs were everywhere. Answer: Miracle
Teflon
Lockney says that he gets this one all the time. NASA uses Teflon in heat shields, in space suits, and even in cargo holds. But Teflon was invented in 1938. That's long before NASA was around. Answer: Myth
Space pen
In the 1960s, an inventor named Paul Fisher came up with a remarkable pen that would work in zero-gravity. NASA used them in the Apollo 7 mission. The pen was a success, but when Fisher came up with it, he wasn't working for NASA. Answer: NASA Myth
Smartphone cameras
In the 1990's, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory team was looking for ways to shrink cameras down for interplanetary travel. They came up with the camera-on-a-chip, also known as the CMOS sensor. Today, CMOS sensors are found in most of the world's camera phones. Answer: NASA Miracle
Velcro
Yes, NASA has used Velcro in its missions. No, they didn't invent it. A swiss engineer named George de Mestral came up with it in the late 1940s. Answer: Myth
Baby formula
NASA once gave a contract to Marietta Laboratories to experiment with microalgae as a kind of three-in-one food source, oxygen engine, and an organic waste disposal toolkit. The space food work didn't pan out, but Marietta would give us the technology to make nutritional supplements for infant formula. Answer: NASA Miracle
Tang
Tang's NASA link dates back to John Glenn's 1962 Friendship 7 mission. The storied astronaut did drink Tang in space, but it was invented for consumers, not the space program. Answer: Myth
Truck fairings
It all started when Edwin Saltzman was riding his bike. Whenever big trucks passed, he'd get hit with a mighty wallop of air. Since he worked at NASA, which has made a study of wind resistance on aircraft, it was pretty easy to design a more aerodynamic truck. And by the late '70s his designs were everywhere. Answer: Miracle
Teflon
Lockney says that he gets this one all the time. NASA uses Teflon in heat shields, in space suits, and even in cargo holds. But Teflon was invented in 1938. That's long before NASA was around. Answer: Myth
Space pen
In the 1960s, an inventor named Paul Fisher came up with a remarkable pen that would work in zero-gravity. NASA used them in the Apollo 7 mission. The pen was a success, but when Fisher came up with it, he wasn't working for NASA. Answer: NASA Myth
Smartphone cameras
In the 1990's, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory team was looking for ways to shrink cameras down for interplanetary travel. They came up with the camera-on-a-chip, also known as the CMOS sensor. Today, CMOS sensors are found in most of the world's camera phones. Answer: NASA Miracle
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3,500 feet over the Indian River for the first Space Shuttle Launch. One of my HS buddies was at the controls while I snapped the picture. There weren't any planes available for rent anywhere in FL on the day it was scheduled to launch, but the launch was delayed a day and I had a plane reserved. I'm thinking is was a Piper Archer. Today you can't get anywhere near KSC in a light plane during a launch.
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NASA’s 10 Greatest Science Missions
The 10 most groundbreaking science missions NASA's ever sent to space.
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CW3 (Join to see)
SGT(P) Secorah Arbuckle I agree, the sites that the Hubble revealed are simply amazing.
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1) Allen Shepherd, flight into space. 2) Buzz Aldrien walking on the moon.
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