Ike and the Birth of NASA
On July 29, 1958 (63 years ago today) NASA was born when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. The Act was signed following the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite and the nation's leadership feared that the United States was losing a step in the Cold War with the Soviets venturing into space, likely for military purposes. The legislation creating NASA was drafted by the United States House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration and on July 29, 1958 it was signed into law by President Eisenhower. Prior to this bill, space exploration was seen as a military venture, in line with the Soviet model that had launched the first orbital satellite. The Act was motivated by the lack of response by a US military infrastructure and concern that the US was falling behind in the space race.
The original 1958 legislation tasked the new Agency with conducting the aeronautical and space activities of the United States, specifically "so as to contribute materially to one or more of the following objectives:"
1. The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;
2. The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;
3. The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies and living organisms through space;
4. The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes.
5. The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere.
6. The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defenses of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency;
7. Cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to this Act and in the peaceful application of the results, thereof; and
8. The most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment.[3]
(In 2012, the legislation would be amended to add a ninth objective: The preservation of the United States preeminent position in aeronautics and space through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing processes.)
The Act did away with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), transferring its activities and resources under NASA effective October 1, 1958. The Act also created a Civilian-Military Liaison Committee, for the purpose of coordinating civilian and military space applications, and keeping NASA and the Department of Defense "fully and currently informed" of each other's space activities.
The phrase "We came in peace for all mankind", was inscribed on a plaque left on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 11, and is originates from the Act's declaration of NASA's policy and purpose: "The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of the United States that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind."
In 1955, in separate announcements made four days apart, both the US and the Soviet Union publicly announced that they would launch artificial satellites within the next few years. The July 29, 1955 announcement was made from the White House and it stated that the U.S. would launch "small Earth circling satellites" between July 1, 1957, and December 31, 1958, as part of the American contribution to the International Geophysical Year. Americans were shocked when, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik 1 satellite into orbit. Three months later, a nationally televised test of the American Vanguard TV3 missile failed, causing embarrassment for those responsible for the launch. Americans facetiously referred to the missile as "Flopnik" or "Stay-putnik." The success of the Soviet satellite program suggested that the Soviet Union had made a substantial leap forward in technology, and this was perceived as one that posed a serious threat to U.S. national security. President Eisenhower downplayed the significance of the Soviet launch, but this did little to remove public fear and anxiety about the perceived growing technological gap.
Many Americans rushed to build nuclear bomb shelters, and the Soviet Union played on American fears, as Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev boasted about his nation's new superiority as a world power. British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan commented during a June 1958 visit to the U.S. that Eisenhower was "under severe attack for the first time" in his presidency. Economist Bernard Baruch was also critical of the Eisenhower administration for what he saw as its failure to keep up with the Soviets. He wrote in open letter to the New York Herald Tribune titled "The Lessons of Defeat", in which he said:
"While we devote our industrial and technological power to producing new model automobiles and more gadgets, the Soviet Union is conquering space. It is Russia, not the United States, who has had the imagination to hitch its wagon to the stars and the skill to reach for the moon and all but grasp it. America is worried. It should be."
The launch spurred the US federal government into action. The Explorers program (which had earlier been supplanted by Project Vanguard) was finally able to launch an American satellite into orbit on January 31, 1958 with the successful launch of Explorer 1. In February 1958, Eisenhower authorized formation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, later renamed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), within the Department of Defense. Its goal was to develop emerging technologies for the U.S. military. The new agency's first major project was the Corona satellite, which was designed to replace the U-2 spy plane as a source of aerial photographic surveillance. His support for the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which established NASA as a civilian space agency, represented the consensus in his administration that created strong new trend in public opinion looking up to space exploration for both military and commercial motives. NASA took over the space technology research started by DARPA, as well as the air force's manned satellite program, Man In Space Soonest (creators apparently weren't concerned about acronyms), which was renamed as Project Mercury. The project's first seven astronauts were announced on April 9, 1959. In September 1958, the president signed into law the National Defense Education Act, a four-year program that poured billions of dollars into the U.S. education system.
The space race was on. Despise Eisenhower's best efforts, his opponents would exploit the perceived gap between Soviet and American space technology to their advantage in the 1960 Presidential Election.
The original 1958 legislation tasked the new Agency with conducting the aeronautical and space activities of the United States, specifically "so as to contribute materially to one or more of the following objectives:"
1. The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;
2. The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;
3. The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies and living organisms through space;
4. The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes.
5. The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere.
6. The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defenses of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency;
7. Cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to this Act and in the peaceful application of the results, thereof; and
8. The most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment.[3]
(In 2012, the legislation would be amended to add a ninth objective: The preservation of the United States preeminent position in aeronautics and space through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing processes.)
The Act did away with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), transferring its activities and resources under NASA effective October 1, 1958. The Act also created a Civilian-Military Liaison Committee, for the purpose of coordinating civilian and military space applications, and keeping NASA and the Department of Defense "fully and currently informed" of each other's space activities.
The phrase "We came in peace for all mankind", was inscribed on a plaque left on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 11, and is originates from the Act's declaration of NASA's policy and purpose: "The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of the United States that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind."
In 1955, in separate announcements made four days apart, both the US and the Soviet Union publicly announced that they would launch artificial satellites within the next few years. The July 29, 1955 announcement was made from the White House and it stated that the U.S. would launch "small Earth circling satellites" between July 1, 1957, and December 31, 1958, as part of the American contribution to the International Geophysical Year. Americans were shocked when, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik 1 satellite into orbit. Three months later, a nationally televised test of the American Vanguard TV3 missile failed, causing embarrassment for those responsible for the launch. Americans facetiously referred to the missile as "Flopnik" or "Stay-putnik." The success of the Soviet satellite program suggested that the Soviet Union had made a substantial leap forward in technology, and this was perceived as one that posed a serious threat to U.S. national security. President Eisenhower downplayed the significance of the Soviet launch, but this did little to remove public fear and anxiety about the perceived growing technological gap.
Many Americans rushed to build nuclear bomb shelters, and the Soviet Union played on American fears, as Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev boasted about his nation's new superiority as a world power. British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan commented during a June 1958 visit to the U.S. that Eisenhower was "under severe attack for the first time" in his presidency. Economist Bernard Baruch was also critical of the Eisenhower administration for what he saw as its failure to keep up with the Soviets. He wrote in open letter to the New York Herald Tribune titled "The Lessons of Defeat", in which he said:
"While we devote our industrial and technological power to producing new model automobiles and more gadgets, the Soviet Union is conquering space. It is Russia, not the United States, who has had the imagination to hitch its wagon to the stars and the skill to reach for the moon and all but grasp it. America is worried. It should be."
The launch spurred the US federal government into action. The Explorers program (which had earlier been supplanted by Project Vanguard) was finally able to launch an American satellite into orbit on January 31, 1958 with the successful launch of Explorer 1. In February 1958, Eisenhower authorized formation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, later renamed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), within the Department of Defense. Its goal was to develop emerging technologies for the U.S. military. The new agency's first major project was the Corona satellite, which was designed to replace the U-2 spy plane as a source of aerial photographic surveillance. His support for the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which established NASA as a civilian space agency, represented the consensus in his administration that created strong new trend in public opinion looking up to space exploration for both military and commercial motives. NASA took over the space technology research started by DARPA, as well as the air force's manned satellite program, Man In Space Soonest (creators apparently weren't concerned about acronyms), which was renamed as Project Mercury. The project's first seven astronauts were announced on April 9, 1959. In September 1958, the president signed into law the National Defense Education Act, a four-year program that poured billions of dollars into the U.S. education system.
The space race was on. Despise Eisenhower's best efforts, his opponents would exploit the perceived gap between Soviet and American space technology to their advantage in the 1960 Presidential Election.