Amos Stevens
New Member
With a lot of people glued to the news of the latest Discovery mission about to LAND correctly Thought we might discuss our views about our space program....You think it should continue? What do you think is being done incorrectly?
Before NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) - NASA Incentive
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), had beginnings based in both scientific pursuit and the military. Let's start from the early days and see how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began.
After World War II, the DOD began a serious research push into the fields of rocketry and upper atmosphere sciences to ensure American leadership in technology. As part of this push, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a plan to orbit a scientific satellite as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) for the period, July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958, a cooperative effort to gather scientific data about the Earth. Quickly, the Soviet Union jumped in, announcing plans to orbit its own satellite. (See Sputnik 1.)
The Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard was chosen on 9 September 1955 to support the IGY effort, but while it enjoyed exceptional publicity throughout the second half of 1955, and all of 1956, the technological demands upon the program were too great and the funding levels too small to ensure success.
The launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957 shoved the US satellite program into crisis mode. Playing technological catch-up, the United States launched its first Earth satellite on January 31, 1958, when Explorer 1 documented the existence of radiation zones encircling the Earth.
An Act to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth's atmosphere, and for other purposes." With this simple preamble, the Congress and the President of the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on October 1, 1958, a direct result of the Sputnik crisis. The fledgling National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency absorbed the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics intact: its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of $100 million, three major research laboratories-Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory-and two smaller test facilities. Soon afterwards, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) incorporated other organizations, including the space science group of the Naval Research Laboratory in Maryland, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed by the California Institute of Technology for the Army, and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, the laboratory where Wernher von Braun's team of engineers were engaged in the development of large rockets.
As it grew, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) created other Centers and today it has ten located around the country.
Early in its history, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was already looking at putting a human in space. Once again, the Soviet Union beat the US to the punch when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space on April 12, 1961. However, the gap was closing as on May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American to fly into space, when he rode his Mercury capsule on a 15-minute suborbital mission. Project Mercury was the first high-profile program of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which had as its goal placing humans in space. The following year, on February 20, John H. Glenn Jr. became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth.
Following on the heels of Project Mercury, Project Gemini continued NASA's human spaceflight program to and expanded its capabilities with spacecraft built for two astronauts. Gemini's 10 flights also provided NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) scientists and engineers with more data on weightlessness, perfected reentry and splashdown procedures, and demonstrated rendezvous and docking in space. One of the highlights of the program occurred during Gemini 4, on June 3, 1965, when Edward H. White, Jr., became the first U.S. astronaut to conduct a spacewalk.
The crowning achievement of NASA’s early years was Project Apollo. When President John F. Kennedy announced "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth," NASA, itself was committed to placing a man on the moon.
The Apollo moon project was a massive effort that required significant expenditures, costing $25.4 billion, 11 years, and 3 lives to accomplish.
On July 20, 1969, Neil A. Armstrong made his now famous remarks, "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind," as he stepped onto the Lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission. After taking soil samples, photographs, and doing other tasks on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin rendezvoused with their colleague Michael Collins in lunar orbit for a safe voyage back to Earth.
There were five more successful Apollo lunar landing missions, but only a failed one rivaled the first for excitement. All totaled, 12 astronauts walked on the Moon during the Apollo years.
Thanks to the NASA History Office for much of this information on the early days of NASA.
©2005 About, Inc.
Before NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) - NASA Incentive
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), had beginnings based in both scientific pursuit and the military. Let's start from the early days and see how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began.
After World War II, the DOD began a serious research push into the fields of rocketry and upper atmosphere sciences to ensure American leadership in technology. As part of this push, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a plan to orbit a scientific satellite as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) for the period, July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958, a cooperative effort to gather scientific data about the Earth. Quickly, the Soviet Union jumped in, announcing plans to orbit its own satellite. (See Sputnik 1.)
The Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard was chosen on 9 September 1955 to support the IGY effort, but while it enjoyed exceptional publicity throughout the second half of 1955, and all of 1956, the technological demands upon the program were too great and the funding levels too small to ensure success.
The launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957 shoved the US satellite program into crisis mode. Playing technological catch-up, the United States launched its first Earth satellite on January 31, 1958, when Explorer 1 documented the existence of radiation zones encircling the Earth.
An Act to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth's atmosphere, and for other purposes." With this simple preamble, the Congress and the President of the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on October 1, 1958, a direct result of the Sputnik crisis. The fledgling National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency absorbed the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics intact: its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of $100 million, three major research laboratories-Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory-and two smaller test facilities. Soon afterwards, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) incorporated other organizations, including the space science group of the Naval Research Laboratory in Maryland, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed by the California Institute of Technology for the Army, and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, the laboratory where Wernher von Braun's team of engineers were engaged in the development of large rockets.
As it grew, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) created other Centers and today it has ten located around the country.
Early in its history, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was already looking at putting a human in space. Once again, the Soviet Union beat the US to the punch when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space on April 12, 1961. However, the gap was closing as on May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American to fly into space, when he rode his Mercury capsule on a 15-minute suborbital mission. Project Mercury was the first high-profile program of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which had as its goal placing humans in space. The following year, on February 20, John H. Glenn Jr. became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth.
Following on the heels of Project Mercury, Project Gemini continued NASA's human spaceflight program to and expanded its capabilities with spacecraft built for two astronauts. Gemini's 10 flights also provided NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) scientists and engineers with more data on weightlessness, perfected reentry and splashdown procedures, and demonstrated rendezvous and docking in space. One of the highlights of the program occurred during Gemini 4, on June 3, 1965, when Edward H. White, Jr., became the first U.S. astronaut to conduct a spacewalk.
The crowning achievement of NASA’s early years was Project Apollo. When President John F. Kennedy announced "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth," NASA, itself was committed to placing a man on the moon.
The Apollo moon project was a massive effort that required significant expenditures, costing $25.4 billion, 11 years, and 3 lives to accomplish.
On July 20, 1969, Neil A. Armstrong made his now famous remarks, "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind," as he stepped onto the Lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission. After taking soil samples, photographs, and doing other tasks on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin rendezvoused with their colleague Michael Collins in lunar orbit for a safe voyage back to Earth.
There were five more successful Apollo lunar landing missions, but only a failed one rivaled the first for excitement. All totaled, 12 astronauts walked on the Moon during the Apollo years.
Thanks to the NASA History Office for much of this information on the early days of NASA.
©2005 About, Inc.