The National Aeronautics And Space Administration

The Cold War was an all-encompassing face of the 20th century, world politics, and a major idea during this time was domination of the skies. The United States competed against The Soviet Union in a war unlike any other, they didn’t fight with guns, bombs, or war machines but with science and the battlefield was space. The prioritization of the space race on the national agenda was characterized by an urgency, which underscored the commitment to the U.S. to defeat the Soviet Union by all means necessary. This came at the cost of billions of dollars, resources, lives, and political forces.

America’s space program is undoubtedly one of its greatest modern achievements. Few people cannot recall the famous quote “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” or do not know where it came from. The story leading up to the moment a man walked on the moon, as well as everything that came after, is just as interesting and important as the moment itself. The significance of the history of America’s aeronautics programs cannot possibly be overestimated, and their story is one that is incredibly important to the modern world of today. It would not be the nation that it is, with the technology it possesses, without its crucial involvement in the “space race”. If the technology that sent a man to the moon did not exist, our daily lives would be impacted and basic tools would be missing. Beginning with America’s first official aeronautics organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (or NACA) and continuing through to the present day and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (or NASA), the story of America’s aerospace programs is interesting and extremely important. It is a story that spans many years and giant leaps in technology, and involves important locations like Wallops Flight Facility and Kennedy Space Center. From the early beginnings of NACA and Wallops, and continuing on to the rise and success of NASA and Kennedy Space Center, aeronautics

In July of 1958, President Eisenhower passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a response to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik nine months earlier. That administration, now known worldwide as NASA, has become an icon of space exploration and mankind's accomplishments. Who would have thought that fifty years later, NASA's future would be so uncertain? Congress has recently proposed a bill that would significantly cut funding from the NASA's Constellation program. These budget cuts are unnecessary and are counterproductive to the original idea of the space program.

It is often debated whether or not the Space Race was necessary. People have viewed it as a waste of time, money, and resources. America spent over $25 billion on the space program, equivalent to $100 billion today. Many believed that there were far more pressing matters on Earth, and that they should not explore space. Those people only saw the disadvantages that it had (Biddle, 2009). However, the Space Race was beneficial to humanity in various ways. Today Americans can use the knowledge obtained during the Space Race for countless purposes including commercial and military applications (Rabinowitch, 1963).The Space Race changed the face of science, international politics, and technology forever (Schefter 2005). The Space Race was not

From this technological race came the “Space Race” that led to mankind’s first steps towards exploring the universe beyond Earth. The first move of the Space Race occurred when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first satellite to successfully travel in space, on October 4, 1957. The satellite orbited the Earth for more than ninety days, and its sole capability was to emit a beeping noise only audible on certain radio frequencies (“National Debate Topic…”). The first U.S. satellite, named Explorer 1, was sent into orbit just three months later on January 31, 1958. From these technological advances developed new, more challenging goals such as sending a man into space, which called for the national funding of a program that could push the United States into the forefront of the fight. Thus, NASA was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which President Eisenhower signed on July 29, 1958 (“Creation of NASA” 261). This moment did not officially begin the NASA however; the program truly began in 1915 with the creation of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The stated goal of the Committee was to “…supervise and direct the

The space race begun in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union. In addition, the United States aerospace innovation was considerably prompted by the government’s steady upward ratcheting of requirements for the acceleration, efficiency, and performance based on speedily evolving project requirements. “Fifteen thousand workers had arrived on the outskirts on (the city of) Sacramento” (pg.55) in California due to the rising aerospace industry. David Beers

The next major feat in space exploration was applying the motivations of the United States to combine with international forces and construct the International Space Station. Fathered by President Ronald Reagan in his State of the Union Address 1984, he argues, “America has always been greatest when we dared to be great. We can reach for greatness again. We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful, economic, and scientific gain. Tonight, I am directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade” (Reagan). The country was able to set goals and achieve them. The party-goers of the 20s would have never considered conquering the last frontier, but WWII enlivened the preposterous ambitions.

Nasa was found in 1957 of July 29. The United States and Russia were in the midst of the Cold War after World War II. The exchange of ideas of space exploration occurred coining the space race. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved scientific studies of the International Geophysical Year (July 1st, 1957- December 31st, 1958) of the earth. The Soviet Union heard of this and quickly geared up their own studies. The Naval Research Lab produced the Vanguard Project to help the International Geophysical Year. It was chosen to support

The Space Race greatly affected American Politics and left a stellar legacy on Earth along with the discovery of many useful products used in space technology modified for modern day use. Evan Herbert exclaims how The Space Race affected American Politics by stating; “The presidencies of Eisenhower and Kennedy were put under great strain during this intense rivalry between these two world super powers. Eisenhower assertiveness was questioned after the Soviet launching of their Sputnik satellite. President Kennedy had to keep morale and support for the Space Race afloat when the American public question the purpose, necessity and budget for the en- devour”(Herbert 7). Herbert also adds a quote from one of President John F. Kennedy’s speeches after he states, “On September 12th, 1962 at Rice Stadium, President John F. Kennedy gave one of his most famous speeches ever given”. Herbert then states what John F. Kennedy articulates towards the end of his speech, ‘“Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there”’(Herbert 2). Bill Dietrich remarks about the legacy that The Space Race has given us in present times as he questions, “What has the Space Race accomplished?”, he then continues on his question, “Will future historians someday link the demise of the Soviet Union to its launch of Sputnik?”(Dietrich 1). Dietrich answers these two questions later in his article by

The news came as an ugly surprise to the Americans, who were not expecting the Soviets to beat them to space, but the United States responded quickly with a project of their own. Less than a year after Sputnik’s launch into space the US launched their own satellite, Explorer 1 into the atmosphere. Later that year, on the 29th of July, president Eisenhower signed off on the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA. For the years following the launch of Explorer 1 the Soviets and Americans would send many satellites and probes into space, each more impressive than the last. On May 25th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy addressed congress, attempting to boost the funding for NASA.

In 1965, NASA’s annual budget was $5.2 billion; this money was spent to heat up the Space Race (“Project Apollo”). The Space Race and its competitive nature is best illustrated in this passage from John F. Kennedy’s Address at Rice University on the nation's space effort, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too” (“John F. Kennedy”). The launch of the Soviet satellite, Sputnik 1, was the event that began the Space Race (The First 13). It was launched on October 4, 1957 (Taylor, Roberts, and Bullock 2451; “The Space Race”). This metallic sphere created the panic of the Sputnik Crisis and the missile gap (Commager 628; Taylor, Roberts, and Bullock 2451; The First 13). Two products of the Sputnik Crisis were the National Defense Education Act and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“A Brief;” Apollo to the moon 19-20; The First 25). From that point on, the race was on. Although the Soviet Union had a head start in the Space Race, the United States caught up with and surpassed them because of their advanced education system, the German engineers, technology from the Second World War, and their different types of government and economic systems.

The year after the launch of Sputnik, “President Dwight Eisenhower signed a public order creating NASA,” a federal space agency dedicated to space exploration. This launch ushered in military developments, so many space programs were created to utilize the military potential of space. NASA has contributed much to the space programs while creating project Apollo. After the launch of Sputnik “NASA’s budget was increased almost 500 percent” while the budget increased by this massive amount, NASA’s lunar landing program

Americans soon became worried, as it was close to the beginning of what would become to be known as the Cold War, of the fact that if the Soviet Union was in possession of missiles as powerful as the one used to launch the Sputnik mission (Balogh 14). As many feared, what was stopping them from using a similar missile on the United States in the event of political adversity? Likewise, during the beginning of the space race, there was a general lack of understanding behind the science of space. Many were enthusiastic for the new adventure, but even more knew nothing about space except what they had learned in science fiction novels and films (Engdahl 180). A combination of this fear of the Soviet Union’s missile capacity and a general dubiety regarding space exploration led to diverse opinions regarding America’s involvement in the space

October 4, 1957: The Russia launched Sputnik into space. Thus began the seemingly-eternal battle for control of space exploration. Who would get the first man into space; to the Moon, to Mars? Everything that could be done by either country was being done to give the edge. It soon became obvious to all that neither country was going to back down from the challenge. However, a lot has changed since 1957, governments have slumped, privatized exploration has taken charge. . . what happened? Where is space exploration going? Where is the human race, today?

After the ending of the second World War a new conflict had commenced: the Cold War. This ideological competition placed two superpowers against each other, the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union. This signalled a transformation of a new age. For the United States government, small increments of legislation, military power and the implementation of a new space agency into the political-economic system were placed. Space exploration was targeted for the political economic analysis as they were close interactions between industry, academic circles, and government. The execution of a fruitful space program needed huge investments in infrastructure, proficiency and the expectation of high risk. The private