NASA, an independent federal agency, was created in 1958 to foster research on flight and space exploration.
NASA grew initially as an successor to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which, since its creation in 1915, had researched flight, rocketry, missile technology, and space exploration. The push for a new agency arose out of the tension associated with the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The 1957 launching of two Soviet satellites, Sputnik I and II, energized the American government to meet the challenge and regain the lead in science and space technology. In response, the Senate created the Special Committee on Space and Aeronautics to frame legislation for a permanent federal agency, while President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the President’s Science Advisory Committee to do the same thing. One year later, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. Eisenhower signed the law on July 29 and NASA began operation in October.
A major concern raised during NASA’s creation involved the tension over proposed military and civilian purposes for the new agency. Many military leaders and their congressional allies wanted NASA to form part of the defense establishment. Others, including Eisenhower, opposed such close ties and argued successfully for the creation of a civilian agency. Though a civilian organization, NASA still retained close ties to the military with many of its developments used for military purposes.
Soon after its creation, NASA devoted most of its resources to placing a human in space. To this end, NASA created Project Mercury and introduced the first seven astronauts to the public in April 1959. The project moved at a deliberate pace until Soviet accomplishments accelerated NASA’s plans. On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, orbiting the Earth once before returning. The Americans followed with Alan Shepard’s trip aboard Freedom 7 on May 6, 1961. Concerned with American prestige and the possibility of losing ground in the cold war, two weeks later President John F. Kennedy publicly supported a NASA project to land a human on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Out of this came the Apollo program, which cost nearly $20 billion and strengthened connections between NASA, universities, and private companies devoted to flight and space exploration. The program succeeded in July 1969 when astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.
Although public and political support for the Apollo program had been strong, NASA’s funding levels had begun to drop even before its success. While NASA’s budget increased from $500 million in 1960 to $5.3 billion in 1965, it dropped to $3 billion by the early 1970s. Interest in space exploration diminished for three reasons. First, the social movements of the 1960s, especially the Civil Rights movement, led Americans and their political leaders to focus on domestic issues. Funding was channeled into Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society programs, specifically, the War on Poverty, which began in 1964 and served as the central part of Johnson’s domestic agenda. Second, the government devoted resources to its growing involvement in the Vietnam War. Finally, the economic stagnation of the 1970s eroded further hopes of increasing NASA’s budget.
Although largely successful and beneficial, there have been problems and tragedy in NASA’s history. Three astronauts—Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee—died in a fire aboard an Apollo capsule as it sat on the launch pad in January 1967. Three others nearly died aboard Apollo 13 in April 1970, when an exploding oxygen tank brought the craft close to destruction. These losses contributed to questions about NASA’s goals, competence, and use of resources.
As funding dropped, NASA focused on three major areas: launching unmanned probes to explore the solar system, developing a space station, and creating a reusable launch vehicle. Several unmanned programs, including Viking, Mariner, Voyager, and Galileo, provided a rich set of data on the solar system. In May 1973, NASA launched Skylab, an experimental space station. Finally, NASA launched the first space shuttle in 1981, which today serves as the agency’s main vehicle for transporting humans into space.
Further reading: Roger D. Launius, NASA: A History of the U. S. Civil Space Program (Malabar, Fla.: Krieger Publishing, 1994).
—Gregory S. Wilson
World History
