National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958)
Excerpt from the National Aeronautics and Space Act
- (a) 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.
- (b) The Congress declares that the general welfare and security of the United States require that adequate provision be made for aeronautical and space activities. The Congress further declares that such activities shall be the responsibility of, and shall be directed by, a civilian agency exercising control over aeronautical and space activities sponsored by the United States.
The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (Space Act) (P.L. 85-568, 72 Stat. 426) established a civilian-controlled National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headed by an administrator as well as a presidential advisory council on aeronautics. The newly created NASA assumed the responsibilities, functions, and many of the employees of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), while programs related to the military and the development of space-related weapons systems were retained by the Department of Defense with turf battles to be mediated by the President of the United States.
The immediate impetus for the Space Act was widespread fear that the United States was losing its Cold War with the Soviet Union. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the artificial satellite Sputnik. This technological achievement and the launch of Sputnik II the following month evoked considerable anxiety among policymakers and the American public that the Soviets had gained technological superiority in aeronautics that, coupled with evidence of military superiority (the Soviets had recently tested intercontinental ballistic missiles), portended a Cold War imbalance in the Soviets' favor. Passed as it was in the midst of the Cold War, the Space Act was seen as crucial to the preservation of the United States and its competitiveness with the Soviet Union. Indeed, the constitutional basis cited in the act was Congress's power and obligation, under Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution, to "provide for the common defense and general welfare" of the United States.
Consideration of the Legislation
While the legislative process is generally slow, remarkably the Space Act was conceived and passed in less than one year. Both the pronounced need for a concerted national effort and both parties' political needs to emphasize, prior to the 1958 elections, their efforts to compete in the space race led to widespread, bipartisan support for the Space Act. For its part, the Eisenhower administration, embarrassed by the Soviet advance evidenced by Sputnik, hoped to be perceived as proactive in overcoming the technological deficit in the Cold War. In his State of the Union address, delivered January 9, 1958, President Eisenhower announced the creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) within the Department of Defense to coordinate research into space exploration, satellite technology, and ballistic missiles.
Skeptical of the Defense Department's ability to meet the needs of the space race, top congressional Democratic leaders sought passage of a Space Act that would establish a civilian-led NASA. From December 1957 to January 1958, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, who chaired the Preparedness Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, held multiple hearings on space and astronautics. On February 6, the Senate established its Special Committee on Space and Astronautics also to be chaired by Senator Johnson. And, on March 5, the House created its Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration to be chaired by Majority Leader John W. McCormack of Massachusetts. With legislative efforts already underway, on April 2 President Eisenhower acceded to Congress by sending a special message requesting that Congress create a civilian-run NASA. Both the House Select Committee and the Senate Special Committee moved quickly, reporting legislation to their full chambers on May 24 and June 11, respectively.
The content of the legislative debate on both the House and Senate floors reveals the emphasis on the Cold War and military preparedness. In the House debate on June 2, Majority Leader McCormack emphasized the future consequences of congressional action, marveling at the quick technological advance and warning that if an "enemy of the free world" were "able to get a decided advantage, that advantage might result in the destruction of the entire world or in the subjugation of the entire world to that particular nation." These sentiments were echoed on the Senate side as Senator Johnson argued to his colleagues in the June 16 legislative debate: "What Congress does with this legislation is of vital importance. The success our country enjoys in space exploration and development depends to a large degree upon the kind of organization and powers which the Congress creates. Unless our success in this new field exceeds that of totalitarian countries, human freedom may perish."
The chief objections to the Space Act, raised during the legislative debate, centered on political turf. Supporters of NACA, ARPA, and other Defense Department programs raised objections to the encompassing nature of NASA's influence. Despite these areas of disagreement, the Space Act enjoyed widespread, bipartisan support, and it passed by voice vote in the House on June 2nd and similarly by voice vote in the Senate on June 16. Differences between House and Senate versions of the bill were reconciled in conference committee and the Conference Report was approved by voice vote in both the House and the Senate on July 16. Congress completed its actions on this legislation by altering House and Senate rules to establish the House Committee on Science and Astronautics on July 21 and the Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee on July 24 in order to oversee the continuing operations of NASA. On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed P.L. 85-568 into law.
Nasa's Impact
The Space Act recommitted the American national government to space research and development and spawned a tremendous growth in the federal government's investment in the study of aeronautics. This is most obvious in a comparison of NASA and its predecessor, the NACA. According to the NASA Historical Data Book, whereas the NACA employed 8,000 individuals and had a budget of $100 million in 1958, just a decade later, in 1967, NASA employed 36,000 individuals and had a budget of over $5 billion. This massive effort to engage in high technology research and development generated advances that spilled over into many academic, commercial, and military enterprises.
In addition to raising the very real technological and military stakes in the United States' space race with the Soviet Union, the Space Act's major impact seems to have been symbolic. Without the Space Act, the United States would not have won the space race to the moon. Indeed, perhaps the most significant impact of the Space Act can be found in how the images of NASA's successes and tragic failures have played a central role in the American collective consciousness. From the moonwalk to the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters, NASA's highs and lows have been nationalizing events that are embedded in America's collective memory.
Bibliography
Griffith, Alison. The National Aeronautics and Space Act. Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press, 1962.
Van Nimmen, Jane, Leonard C. Bruno, and Robert L. Rosholt. NASA Historical Data Book, Volume 1: NASA Resources, 1958–1968. Washington, DC: NASA, 1988.
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