National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Prior to the successful launch of the satellite known as Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957, interest in space exploration in the United States was primarily the domain of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). In 1958, however, Congress responded to the Soviet space venture with the passage of the National Aeronautics and Space Act. This legislation, with the support of President Dwight Eisenhower, established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an independent agency to direct the nation's space flight and research programs. NASA is directed by an administrator who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for an indefinite term.
NASA's human space flight efforts began in the 1960s, first with Project Mercury and, later, Project Gemini. In 1969 Project Apollo accomplished the goal of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth,” which had been announced by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. By 1981 NASA had ushered in a new stage in the evolution of space flight with the introduction of the space shuttle program. The program utilizes space shuttles, rocket-powered space crafts that look like bulky jet planes and are capable of landing on runways, to ferry people and equipment between the ground and Earth orbit. The first space shuttle, Columbia, was launched into orbit on April 12, 1981, but the most memorable space shuttle launch was on January 25, 1986, when the shuttle Challenger exploded soon after leaving the launch pad because of a fuel leak. The seven astronauts on board were killed.
Other than human space flights, NASA successes over the years have included the exploration of the solar system by scientific probes such as the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft. The Viking and Pathfinder missions provided valuable information about Mars, and the Hubble space telescope has enabled scientists to make a number of important astronomical discoveries. NASA has also launched communications satellites, including the Echo Telstar, and Syncom satellites.
