The True History and Purpose of NASA
The True History and Purpose of NASA by FunTime
The True History and Purpose of NASA
The True History and Purpose of NASA
Creation
Main article: Creation of NASA
On July 29, 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing NASA. When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA absorbed the 46-year-old NACA intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of US$100 million, three major research laboratories (Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory) and two small test facilities.[14] A NASA seal was approved by President Eisenhower in 1959.[15] Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the United States Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA. A significant contributor to NASA's entry into the Space Race with the Soviet Union was the technology from the German rocket program led by Wernher von Braun, who was now working for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), which in turn incorporated the technology of American scientist Robert Goddard's earlier works.[16] Earlier research efforts within the U.S. Air Force[14] and many of ARPA's early space programs were also transferred to NASA.[17] In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a contractor facility operated by the California Institute of Technology.[14]
Space flight programs
Main article: List of NASA missions
NASA has conducted many manned and unmanned spaceflight programs
throughout its history. Unmanned programs launched the first American
artificial satellites into Earth orbit for scientific and communications purposes, and sent scientific probes to explore the planets of the solar system, starting with Venus and Mars, and including "grand tours" of the outer planets. Manned programs sent the first Americans into low Earth orbit (LEO), won the Space Race with the Soviet Union by landing twelve men on the Moon from 1969 to 1972 in the Apollo program, developed a semi-reusable LEO Space Shuttle, and developed LEO space station capability by itself and with the cooperation of several other nations including post-Soviet Russia.Manned programs
The experimental rocket-powered aircraft programs started by NACA were extended by NASA as support for manned spaceflight. This was followed by a one-man space capsule program, and in turn by a two-man capsule program. Reacting to loss of national prestige and security fears caused by early leads in space exploration by the Soviet Union, in 1961 President John F. Kennedy proposed the ambitious goal "of landing a man on the Moon by the end of [the 60s], and returning him safely to the Earth." This goal was met in 1969 by the Apollo program, and NASA planned even more ambitious activities leading to a manned mission to Mars. However, reduction of the perceived threat and changing political priorities almost immediately caused the termination of most of these plans. NASA turned its attention to an Apollo-derived temporary space laboratory, and a semi-reusable Earth orbital shuttle. In the 1990s, funding was approved for NASA to develop a permanent Earth orbital space station in cooperation with the international community, which now included the former rival, post-Soviet Russia. To date, NASA has launched a total of 166 manned space missions on rockets, and thirteen X-15 rocket flights above the USAF definition of spaceflight altitude, 260,000 feet (80 km).[18]X-15 rocket plane (1959–68)
Main article: North American X-15
Twelve pilots were selected for the program from the Air Force, Navy, and NACA (later NASA). One hundred ninety-nine flights were made between 1959 and 1968, resulting in the official world record for the highest speed ever reached by a manned powered aircraft (current as of 2014), and a maximum speed of Mach 6.72, 4,519 miles per hour (7,273 km/h).[20] The altitude record for X-15 was 354,200 feet (107.96 km).[21] Eight of the pilots were awarded Air Force astronaut wings for flying above 260,000 feet (80 km), and two flights by Joseph A. Walker exceeded 100 kilometers (330,000 ft), qualifying as spaceflight according to the International Aeronautical Federation. The X-15 program employed mechanical techniques used in the later manned spaceflight programs, including reaction control system jets for controlling the orientation of a spacecraft, pressurized space suits, and horizon definition for navigation.[21] The reentry and landing data collected were valuable to NASA for designing the Space Shuttle.[19]
Project Mercury (1959–63)
Main article: Project Mercury
Friendship 7, NASA's first manned orbital spaceflight
Mercury-Atlas 6 launch on February 20, 1962
Still frame of John Glenn in orbit from camera inside Friendship 7
When NASA was created that same year, the Air Force program was transferred to it and renamed Project Mercury. The first seven astronauts were selected among candidates from the Navy, Air Force and Marine test pilot programs. On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard Freedom 7, launched by a Redstone booster on a 15-minute ballistic (suborbital) flight.[24] John Glenn became the first American to be launched into orbit by an Atlas launch vehicle on February 20, 1962 aboard Friendship 7.[25] Glenn completed three orbits, after which three more orbital flights were made, culminating in L. Gordon Cooper's 22-orbit flight Faith 7, May 15–16, 1963.[26]
The Soviet Union (USSR) competed with its own single-pilot spacecraft, Vostok. They beat the U.S. for the first man in space, by launching cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into a single Earth orbit aboard Vostok 1 in April 1961, one month before Shepard's flight.[27] In August 1962, they achieved an almost four-day record flight with Andriyan Nikolayev aboard Vostok 3, and also conducted a concurrent Vostok 4 mission carrying Pavel Popovich.
Project Gemini (1961–66)
Main article: Project Gemini
Based on studies to grow the Mercury spacecraft capabilities to long-duration flights, developing space rendezvous
techniques, and precision Earth landing, Project Gemini was started as a
two-man program in 1962 to overcome the Soviets' lead and to support
the Apollo manned lunar landing program, adding extravehicular activity (EVA) and rendezvous and docking to its objectives. The first manned Gemini flight, Gemini 3, was flown by Gus Grissom and John Young on March 23, 1965.[28]
Nine missions followed in 1965 and 1966, demonstrating an endurance
mission of nearly fourteen days, rendezvous, docking, and practical EVA,
and gathering medical data on the effects of weightlessness on humans.[29][30]Under the direction of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, the USSR competed with Gemini by converting their Vostok spacecraft into a two- or three-man Voskhod. They succeeded in launching two manned flights before Gemini's first flight, achieving a three-cosmonaut flight in 1963 and the first EVA in 1964. After this, the program was then canceled, and Gemini caught up while spacecraft designer Sergei Korolev developed the Soyuz spacecraft, their answer to Apollo.
Project Apollo (1961–72)
Main article: Apollo program
The U.S public's perception of the Soviet lead in putting the first man in space, motivated President John F. Kennedy
to ask the Congress on May 25, 1961 to commit the federal government to
a program to land a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, which
effectively launched the Apollo program.[31]Apollo was one of the most expensive American scientific programs ever. It cost more than $20 billion in 1960s dollars[32] or an estimated $205 billion in present-day US dollars.[33] (In comparison, the Manhattan Project cost roughly $26.2 billion, accounting for inflation.)[33][34] It used the Saturn rockets as launch vehicles, which were far bigger than the rockets built for previous projects.[35] The spacecraft was also bigger; it had two main parts, the combined command and service module (CSM) and the lunar landing module (LM). The LM was to be left on the Moon and only the command module (CM) containing the three astronauts would eventually return to Earth.
The first person to stand on the Moon was Neil Armstrong, who was followed by Buzz Aldrin, while Michael Collins orbited above. Five subsequent Apollo missions also landed astronauts on the Moon, the last in December 1972. Throughout these six Apollo spaceflights, twelve men walked on the Moon. These missions returned a wealth of scientific data and 381.7 kilograms (842 lb) of lunar samples. Topics covered by experiments performed included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismology, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind.[41] The Moon landing marked the end of the space race and as a gesture, Armstrong mentioned mankind[42] when he stepped down on the Moon.
Skylab (1965–79)
Main article: Skylab
Skylab was the United States' first and only independently built space station.[44] Conceived in 1965 as a workshop to be constructed in space from a spent Saturn IB
upper stage, the 169,950 lb (77,088 kg) station was constructed on
Earth and launched on May 14, 1973 atop the first two stages of a Saturn V,
into a 235-nautical-mile (435 km) orbit inclined at 50° to the equator.
Damaged during launch by the loss of its thermal protection and one
electricity-generating solar panel, it was repaired to functionality by
its first crew. It was occupied for a total of 171 days by 3 successive
crews in 1973 and 1974.[44] It included a laboratory for studying the effects of microgravity, and a solar observatory.[44]
NASA planned to have a Space Shuttle dock with it, and elevate Skylab
to a higher safe altitude, but the Shuttle was not ready for flight
before Skylab's re-entry on July 11, 1979.[45]To save cost, NASA used one of the Saturn V rockets originally earmarked for a canceled Apollo mission to launch the Skylab. Apollo spacecraft were used for transporting astronauts to and from the station. Three three-man crews stayed aboard the station for periods of 28, 59, and 84 days. Skylab's habitable volume was 11,290 cubic feet (320 m3), which was 30.7 times bigger than that of the Apollo Command Module.[45]
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1972–75)
Main article: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
On May 24, 1972, US President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin
signed an agreement calling for a joint manned space mission, and
declaring intent for all future international manned spacecraft to be
capable of docking with each other.[46] This authorized the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), involving the rendezvous and docking in Earth orbit of a surplus Apollo Command/Service Module with a Soyuz
spacecraft. The mission took place in July 1975. This was the last US
manned space flight until the first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle in April 1981.[47]The mission included both joint and separate scientific experiments, and provided useful engineering experience for future joint US–Russian space flights, such as the Shuttle–Mir Program[48] and the International Space Station.
Space Shuttle program (1972–2011)
Main article: Space Shuttle program
Discovery liftoff, 2008
Mission profile. Left: launch, top: orbit (cargo bay open), right: reentry and landing
Its major components were a spaceplane orbiter with an external fuel tank and two solid-fuel launch rockets at its side. The external tank, which was bigger than the spacecraft itself, was the only component that was not reused. The shuttle could orbit in altitudes of 185–643 km (115–400 miles)[51] and carry a maximum payload (to low orbit) of 24,400 kg (54,000 lb).[52] Missions could last from 5 to 17 days and crews could be from 2 to 8 astronauts.[51]
On 20 missions (1983–98) the Space Shuttle carried Spacelab, designed in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA). Spacelab was not designed for independent orbital flight, but remained in the Shuttle's cargo bay as the astronauts entered and left it through an airlock.[53] Another famous series of missions were the launch and later successful repair of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990 and 1993, respectively.[54]
In 1995, Russian-American interaction resumed with the Shuttle-Mir missions (1995–1998). Once more an American vehicle docked with a Russian craft, this time a full-fledged space station. This cooperation has continued with Russia and the United States as two of the biggest partners in the largest space station built: the International Space Station (ISS). The strength of their cooperation on this project was even more evident when NASA began relying on Russian launch vehicles to service the ISS during the two-year grounding of the shuttle fleet following the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
The Shuttle fleet lost two orbiters and 14 astronauts in two disasters: Challenger in 1986, and Columbia in 2003.[55] While the 1986 loss was mitigated by building the Space Shuttle Endeavour from replacement parts, NASA did not build another orbiter to replace the second loss.[55] NASA's Space Shuttle program had 135 missions when the program ended with the successful landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011. The program spanned 30 years with over 300 astronauts sent into space.[56]
International Space Station (1993–present)
Main article: International Space Station
The ISS program is expected to continue until at least 2020 but may be extended until 2028 or possibly beyond that.[73]
Commercial Resupply Services (2006-present)
Main article: Commercial Resupply Services
The Dragon is seen being berthed to the ISS in May 2012
The Standard variant of Cygnus is seen berthed to the ISS in September 2013
On December 23, 2008, NASA awarded Commercial Resupply Services contracts to SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation.[77] SpaceX uses its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft.[78] Orbital Sciences uses its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft. The first Dragon resupply mission occurred in May 2012.[79] The first Cygnus resupply mission occurred in September 2013.[80] The CRS program now provides for all America's ISS cargo needs; with the exception of a few vehicle-specific payloads that are delivered on the European ATV and the Japanese HTV.[81]
Commercial Crew Program (2010–present)
Main article: Commercial Crew Development
The Commercial Crew Development
(CCDev) program was initiated in 2010 with the purpose of creating
American commercially operated crewed spacecraft capable of delivering
at least four crew members to the ISS, staying docked for 180 days and
then returning them back to Earth.[82][82] It is hoped that these vehicles could also transport non-NASA customers to private space stations such those planned by Bigelow Aerospace.[83] Like COTS, CCDev is also a fixed price milestone-based developmental program that requires some private investment.[75]In 2010, NASA announced the winners of the first phase of the program, a total of $50 million was divided among five American companies to foster research and development into human spaceflight concepts and technologies in the private sector. In 2011, the winners of the second phase of the program were announced, $270 million was divided among four companies.[84] In 2012, the winners of the third phase of the program were announced, NASA provided $1.1 billion divided among three companies to further develop their crew transportation systems.[85] This phase of the CCDev program is expected to last from June 3, 2012 to May 31, 2014.[85] The winners of this latest round were SpaceX's Dragon planned to be launched on a Falcon 9, Boeing's CST-100 planned to be launched on an Atlas V and Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser, which is also planned to be launched on an Atlas V.[86] NASA will most likely only choose one provider for the Commercial Crew program, this vehicle is expected by NASA to become operational around 2017.[87][88]
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The unmanned variant of Dragon is seen approaching the ISS
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Computer rendering of CST-100 in orbit
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Dream Chaser atmospheric test article
Beyond Low Earth Orbit program (2010–present)
Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1), an unmanned test flight of Orion's crew module, is planned to be launched in 2014 on a Delta IV Heavy rocket.[95] Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) is the unmanned initial launch of SLS that would also send Orion on a circumlunar trajectory, which is planned for 2017.[95] The first manned flight of Orion and SLS, Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2) is to launch between 2019 and 2021; it is a 10- to 14-day mission planned to place a crew of four into Lunar orbit.[95] As of March 2012, the destination for EM-3 and the intermediate focus for this new program is still in-flux.[96]
Unmanned programs
Main article: Unmanned NASA missions
More than 1,000 unmanned missions have been designed to explore the Earth and the solar system.[97] Besides exploration, communication satellites have also been launched by NASA.[98]
The missions have been launched directly from Earth or from orbiting
space shuttles, which could either deploy the satellite itself, or with a
rocket stage to take it farther.The first US unmanned satellite was Explorer 1, which started as an ABMA/JPL project during the early space race. It was launched in January 1958, two months after Sputnik. At the creation of NASA the Explorer project was transferred to this agency and still continues to this day. Its missions have been focusing on the Earth and the Sun, measuring magnetic fields and the solar wind, among other aspects.[99] A more recent Earth mission, not related to the Explorer program, was the Hubble Space Telescope, which as mentioned above was brought into orbit in 1990.[100]
The inner Solar System has been made the goal of at least four unmanned programs. The first was Mariner in the 1960s and 70s, which made multiple visits to Venus and Mars and one to Mercury. Probes launched under the Mariner program were also the first to make a planetary flyby (Mariner 2), to take the first pictures from another planet (Mariner 4), the first planetary orbiter (Mariner 9), and the first to make a gravity assist maneuver (Mariner 10). This is a technique where the satellite takes advantage of the gravity and velocity of planets to reach its destination.[101]
Outside Mars, Jupiter was first visited by Pioneer 10 in 1973. More than 20 years later Galileo sent a probe into the planet's atmosphere, and became the first spacecraft to orbit the planet.[103] Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to visit Saturn in 1979, with Voyager 2 making the first (and so far only) visits to Uranus and Neptune in 1986 and 1989, respectively. The first spacecraft to leave the solar system was Pioneer 10 in 1983.[104] For a time it was the most distant spacecraft, but it has since been surpassed by both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.[105]
Pioneers 10 and 11 and both Voyager probes carry messages from the Earth to extraterrestrial life.[106][107] A problem with deep space travel is communication. For instance, it takes about 3 hours at present for a radio signal to reach the New Horizons spacecraft at a point more than halfway to Pluto.[108] Contact with Pioneer 10 was lost in 2003. Both Voyager probes continue to operate as they explore the outer boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space.[109]
Recent and planned activities
NASA's ongoing investigations include in-depth surveys of Mars and Saturn and studies of the Earth and the Sun. Other active spacecraft missions are MESSENGER for Mercury, New Horizons (for Jupiter, Pluto, and beyond), and Dawn for the asteroid belt. NASA continued to support in situ exploration beyond the asteroid belt, including Pioneer and Voyager traverses into the unexplored trans-Pluto region, and Gas Giant orbiters Galileo (1989–2003), Cassini (1997–), and Juno (2011–).The New Horizons mission to Pluto was launched in 2006 and is currently en route for a Pluto flyby in 2015. The probe received a gravity assist from Jupiter in February 2007, examining some of Jupiter's inner moons and testing on-board instruments during the flyby. On the horizon of NASA's plans is the MAVEN spacecraft as part of the Mars Scout Program to study the atmosphere of Mars.[113]
Since 2011, NASA's strategic goals have been[117]
- Extend and sustain human activities across the solar system
- Expand scientific understanding of the Earth and the universe
- Create innovative new space technologies
- Advance aeronautics research
- Enable program and institutional capabilities to conduct NASA's aeronautics and space activities
- Share NASA with the public, educators, and students to provide opportunities to participate
In September 2011, NASA announced the start of the Space Launch System program to develop a human-rated heavy lift vehicle. The Space Launch System is intended to launch the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and other elements towards the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, and one day Mars.[119] The Orion MPCV is planned for an unmanned test launch on a Delta IV Heavy rocket around late 2013.[120]
On August 6, 2012, NASA landed the rover Curiosity on Mars. On August 27, 2012, Curiosity transmitted the first pre-recorded message from the surface of Mars back to Earth, made by Administrator Charlie Bolden:
Hello. This is Charlie Bolden, NASA Administrator, speaking to you via the broadcast capabilities of the Curiosity Rover, which is now on the surface of Mars.
Since the beginning of time, humankind’s curiosity has led us to constantly seek new life…new possibilities just beyond the horizon. I want to congratulate the men and women of our NASA family as well as our commercial and government partners around the world, for taking us a step beyond to Mars.
This is an extraordinary achievement. Landing a rover on Mars is not easy – others have tried – only America has fully succeeded. The investment we are making…the knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater, will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future. Thank you.[121]
Scientific research
For technologies funded or otherwise supported by NASA, see NASA spin-off technologies.
Medicine in space
Main article: Space medicine
A variety of large-scale medical studies are being conducted in space by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Study, in which astronauts (including former ISS Commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka)
perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts to
diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical conditions in space.
Usually there is no physician on board the International Space Station,
and diagnosis of medical conditions is challenging. Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including decompression sickness, barotrauma, immunodeficiencies, loss of bone and muscle, orthostatic intolerance due to volume loss, sleep disturbances, and radiation injury. Ultrasound
offers a unique opportunity to monitor these conditions in space. This
study's techniques are now being applied to cover professional and
Olympic sports injuries as well as ultrasound performed by non-expert
operators in populations such as medical and high school students. It is
anticipated that remote guided ultrasound will have application on
Earth in emergency and rural care situations, where access to a trained
physician is often rare.[122][123][124]Ozone depletion
In 1975, NASA was directed by legislation to research and monitor the upper atmosphere. This led to Upper Atmosphere Research Program and later the Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites in the 1990s to monitor ozone depletion.[125] The first comprehensive worldwide measurements were obtained in 1978 with the Nimbus 7 satellite and NASA scientists at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies.[126]Salt evaporation and energy management
In one of the nation's largest restoration projects, NASA technology helps state and federal government reclaim 15,100 acres (61 km2) of salt evaporation ponds in South San Francisco Bay. Satellite sensors are used by scientists to study the effect of salt evaporation on local ecology.[127]NASA has started Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Program as an agency-wide program directed to prevent pollution and reduce energy and water utilization. It helps to ensure that NASA meets its federal stewardship responsibilities for the environment.[128]
Earth science
NASA is working in cooperation with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The goal is to produce worldwide solar resource maps with great local detail.[130] NASA was also one of the main participants in the evaluation innovative technologies for the cleanup of the sources for dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). On April 6, 1999, the agency signed The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) along with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, DOE, and USAF authorizing all the above organizations to conduct necessary tests at the John F. Kennedy Space center. The main purpose was to evaluate two innovative in-situ remediation technologies, thermal removal and oxidation destruction of DNAPLs.[131] National Space Agency made a partnership with Military Services and Defense Contract Management Agency named the “Joint Group on Pollution Prevention”. The group is working on reduction or elimination of hazardous materials or processes.[132]
On May 8, 2003, Environmental Protection Agency recognized NASA as the first federal agency to directly use landfill gas to produce energy at one of its facilities—the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.[133]
Staff and leadership
Main article: List of NASA Administrators
NASA's administrator
is the agency's highest-ranking official and serves as the senior space
science adviser to the President of the United States. The agency's
administration is located at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC and provides overall guidance and direction.[134] Except under exceptional circumstances, NASA civil service employees are required to be citizens of the United States.[135]The first administrator was Dr. T. Keith Glennan, appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower; during his term he brought together the disparate projects in space development research in the US.[136]
The third administrator was James E. Webb (served 1961–1968), appointed by President John F. Kennedy. In order to implement the Apollo program to achieve Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the Moon by 1970, Webb directed major management restructuring and facility expansion, establishing the Houston Manned Spacecraft (Johnson) Center and the Florida Launch Operations (Kennedy) Center.
In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Charles Bolden as NASA's twelfth administrator.[137] Administrator Bolden is one of three NASA administrators that were astronauts along with Richard H. Truly (served 1989–1992) and Frederick D. Gregory (acting, 2005).
Facilities
Jet Propulsion Laboratory complex in Pasadena, California
Vehicle Assembly and Launch Control at Kennedy Space Center
Main article: NASA facilities
NASA's facilities are research, construction and communication
centers to help its missions. Some facilities serve more than one
application for historic or administrative reasons. NASA also operates a
short-line railroad at the Kennedy Space Center and own special aircraft for instance two Boeing 747 which were used for transport of the Space Shuttle orbiter.John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), is one of the best-known NASA facilities. It has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on pause, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program from three pads at the adjoining Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Another major facility is Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama at which the Saturn 5 rocket and Skylab were developed.[138] The JPL, mentioned above, was together with ABMA one of the agencies behind Explorer 1, the first American space mission.
Budget
Main article: Budget of NASA
NASA's budget has generally been approximately 1% of the federal
budget from the early 1970s on, but briefly peaked to approximately
4.41% in 1966 during the Apollo program.[139]
Recent public perception of the NASA budget has been shown to be
significantly different from reality; a 1997 poll indicated that
Americans responded on average that 20% of the federal budget went to
NASA.[140]The percentage of federal budget that NASA has been allocated has been steadily dropping since the Apollo program and as of 2012 the NASA budget is estimated to be 0.48% of the federal budget.[141] In a March 2012 meeting of the United States Senate Science Committee, Neil deGrasse Tyson testified that "Right now, NASA’s annual budget is half a penny on your tax dollar. For twice that—a penny on a dollar—we can transform the country from a sullen, dispirited nation, weary of economic struggle, to one where it has reclaimed its 20th century birthright to dream of tomorrow."[142][143]
Environmental Impact
Space exploration can affect life on Earth by using toxic chemicals to manufacture rockets, and carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere during operation of rockets.[144] NASA addressed environmental concerns of its now defunct constellation program in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.[145]NASA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see NASA (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 38°52′59″N 77°0′59″W
Seal of NASA
|
|
|
|
 Flag of NASA |
|
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 29, 1958 |
| Preceding Agency | NACA (1915–1958)[2] |
| Jurisdiction | United States government |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. 38°52′59″N 77°0′59″W |
| Employees | 18,100+[3] |
| Annual budget | US$17.8 billion (FY 2012)[4] See also NASA Budget |
| Agency executive | Charles Bolden, administrator |
| Website | nasa.gov See more |
President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958[5] with a distinctly civilian (rather than military) orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29, 1958, disestablishing NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency became operational on October 1, 1958.[6][7]
Since that time, most U.S. space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the Space Launch System and Commercial Crew vehicles. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program (LSP) which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches.
NASA science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System,[8] advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program,[9] exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic missions such as New Horizons,[10] and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs.[11] NASA shares data with various national and international organizations such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite.
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