In this article, we will see When was NASA founded? and its history.
Introduction
NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration and is an autonomous agency under the government of the USA, which is responsible for the nation’s space program, inclusive of extensive research on the cosmos. The journey of the agency is one of the country’s biggest success stories.
Established in 1958, the agency was the successor to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Ever since its inception, NASA has been responsible for most space exploration programs like the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, etc. We shall dive deeper into the illustrious achievements of NASA.
History of NASA
With the end of the second world war and the extensive use of flight technology, nations began to look beyond the layers of Earth’s atmosphere. The NACA introduced the Bell X-1, which was a rocket plane designed for space flight. With the beginning of the cold war came the space race too thus resulting in the USSR launching the first artificial satellite ever, Sputnik 1. This drew the attention of the US government as it was viewed as a threat to national security and thus began the “Sputnik Crisis”. In an attempt to match the military prowess of the USSR, there was a rush to create “A National Research Program for Space Technology”. President Eisenhower proceeded to sign the “National Aeronautics and Space Act” on July 29, 1958, which established NASA by absorbing its precursor, the NACA.
Project Mercury
One of the first major projects initiated by NASA is Project Mercury, the purpose of which was to guide the agency’s spaceflight program. This program was propelled forward by a sub-sect of the space race, which was who could get a man into space the soonest. NASA selected the first seven candidates from the test pilot programs of the Navy, Air force, and the Marines. USSR’s Vostok 1 spacecraft, piloted by Yuri Gagarin however ended up winning the first man in space race in April 1961. The Vostok took flight just one month before NASA’s Alan Shepard was launched into space aboard the Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961. NASA was further able to launch the following people into space:
- John Glenn on the Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962
- L. Gordon Cooper on the Faith 7 on May 15, 1963
Project Gemini
This project began as a two-man project in 1961 to scale the distance between the USA and the Soviet Union in the Space Race, considering that the Soviet Union was much ahead of the United States of America at that time. Gus Grisson and John Young were the two people who were part of the first Gemini flight, the Gemini 3, on March 23, 1965. This was the first Gemini mission that was manned. Following this mission, Project Gemini launched nine subsequent missions between 1965 and 1966. These missions were to demonstrate the USA’s advancement in space technology. They were also of prime importance to the future of manned missions as vital medical data regarding the effects of weightlessness on humans, was gathered in the course of these nine missions. The project finally met its logical end in 1963.
Their competition was however quite intense with the Soviet Union launching two crewed space missions through their program “Voshkod”, in 1964, before the first Gemini even took flight. However, fortune favored NASA when the Voshkod program got canceled, which allowed the Gemini program to catch up to them.
Project Apollo
Project Apollo is considered to be one of the biggest accomplishments of not only NASA but also of the United States of America. President John F. Kennedy was deeply motivated by the dynamics of the space race which ended up in the establishment of a program that would put an American on the moon by the end of the 1960s. The goal was obviously to do it before their counterparts at the Soviet Union. This effectively led to the establishment of the Apollo Space Program. In consonance with the goal at hand, the program consequently became one of the costliest American programs related to science. An estimated $20 billion was spent on this project which would be equivalent to present-day $225 billion, taking inflation into account.
The Apollo 8 hosted the second crew that was sent for the purpose of landing on the moon and it was the closest that anyone had ever gotten to the moon. They ended up orbiting the moon once. The successive two missions were dedicated to the purpose of practicing docking methods that were required for a successful moon landing. The historic moon landing finally happened in July 1969. Three crew members namely Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were aboard the Apollo 11, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepping foot on the moon (in that order) while Michael Collins orbited the moon above them. Neil Armstrong uttered the famous words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Over the span of the next three years, five manned Apollo missions were launched, with the last one in December 1972. Multiple samples were collected off of the moon’s surface and experiments were also conducted on the soil’s surface. Project Apollo holds a great deal of significance in NASA’s history and Modern American history as it not only put men on the moon but it also marked the end of the space race, being crowned as victors.
The Skylab
The Skylab is prided to be the first independently built space station. The idea was that there would exist a workshop that would be constructed in space. It was launched on May 14, 1973, and was set into orbit. It received some damage in the process of the launch as thermal protection was lost. An electricity-generating solar panel was also damaged in the launch. Repairs were conducted on it and thus began its occupancy of a total of 171 days by three different sets of crews between 1973 and 1974. 11,290 cubic feet was the habitable area inside the Skylab.
The Space Shuttle Program
After the successful Apollo missions, NASA shifted its focus to the creation of a sustainable space shuttle program with the motive of reusing the vehicle owing to the intention to frequently launch it into space. The spacecraft “Columbia” was the first to launch, on April 12, 1981. Subsequently, important missions such as the Spacelab (which was designed in cognizance with the European Space Agency) and the launch as well as the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope, which in itself has been an asset to NASA’s space research. After an astounding 135 missions, the Space Shuttle program came to an end after 30 years, on July 21, 2011. The number of astronauts sent into space through this shuttle was in excess of 300.
The International Space Station (ISS)
The ISS is a joint project between the USA, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the European Space Agency. It was originally planned to be a solo project by NASA but considering severe budgetary constraints, it was merged into a multi-national project managed by the respective space agencies of all the countries involved. Legal ownership of the space station is provided for through multiple intergovernmental treaties.
For the past 20 years, the space station has been occupied by astronauts from 15 different countries. Considering the size of the space station, it is viewable from Earth with the naked eye. The ISS is scheduled to run until 2030.
Conclusion
All facets taken into consideration, NASA is definitely an agency that is highly celebrated in not only the United States but also the world. However, it is often disputed as to the need for such heavy investment into the space program. It is also argued that the resources spent by NASA can be better utilized for the development of the country itself. Human space flight is also considered to be highly hazardous and dangerous, considering the type of environment that an astronaut must work in. Exposition to radiation, lack of gravity, weightlessness and the isolation that astronauts face are all factors which can severely affect astronauts both mentally and physically. The high cost of space exploration does not always breed significant scientific or economic returns, thus placing more pressure on NASA to deliver results.
The human race’s need to expand our horizons and to find out what is in the cosmos has always driven us to explore further. Our need to discover extra-terrestrial life has also been a major driving factor. It thus happens to be the duty of the government to prioritize the budget on a need-based mechanism. Questions such as whether space exploration will further assist humanity in the long run, have to be understood and taken into consideration.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does NASA stand for and who is it run by?
NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration and it is an autonomous agency under the US Federal Government.
- Who is responsible for the establishment of NASA?
President Eisenhower signed the “National Aeronautics and Space Act” on July 29, 1958, which established NASA.
- What is the most prominent space program in NASA’s history?
Project Apollo is the most prominent program in NASA’s history as it put mankind on the moon for the first time and it also ended the space race.
