NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to "provide for research into problems of flight within and outside the Earth's atmosphere, and for other purposes." At the time of NASA's creation, it was not possible to predict what the organization would later accomplish. Although not without its critics, NASA has been one of the most respected organizations in the world for more than forty years. The impetus for the Space Act was the Cold War. The act was passed by Congress one year after the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, into space. From these beginnings, NASA has continued to educate and amaze the public with a nearly continuous stream of "out of this world" achievements.

NASA's accomplishments in its more than forty years of existence are led by the Apollo missions that landed humans on the Moon, the exploration of all but one of the planets in the solar system, the development of remote sensing and communications satellites, and dramatic advances in aeronautical research. NASA technology has been adapted for many non-aerospace uses by the private sector, and NASA remains a leading force in scientific research. Perhaps most importantly, NASA has served as a beacon for public understanding of science and technology as well as aerospace innovation.

Current Missions

NASA is undertaking ambitious programs such as the International Space Station to provide a permanently inhabited outpost for humankind. NASA's space science program is planning to send an armada of spacecraft to Mars to prepare for future human missions to that planet. The space agency is a "solution" organization, solving problems as mandated by the Space Act and the nation's leadership.

The National Aeronautics and Space Act 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." NASA is organized into five Enterprises and four Crosscutting Processes that are responsible for carrying out the nine objectives of the Space Act:

The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;
The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;
The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies and living organisms through space;
The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes;
The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere;
The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defenses of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency;
Cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to this Act and in the peaceful application of the results thereof;
The most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort; and
The preservation of the United States' preeminent position in aeronautics and space through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing process.

The Agency, the Plan, and the Personnel

NASA's twenty-five-year goals and objectives are codified in the NASA Strategic Plan, most recently published in September 2000. The agency's current organizational structure is outlined in its Strategic Management Handbook. Both are available on NASA's web site: www.nasa.gov.

The space agency has been led by a total of ten administrators (nine individuals, one of whom served two separate terms) since its inception. These individuals have had the opportunity to carry out the mandate of the Space Act while being responsive to the political will of the nation, the true owners of the government's civil space activities.

Public interest in NASA's success has fluctuated. Many people assume that the decade of the 1960s were the agency's high-water mark not only for large budgets but also for public support. While this is true in the budgetary sense (see NASA Briefing chart), public opinion polls show a greater level of support twenty-five years after the Moon landings than existed at that time.

The space agency was born in the Cold War environment. Increased spending on NASA throughout the early 1960s was rationalized as an investment in beating the Russians in the space race. Thus, when the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, NASA required a new rationale for its exploration programs. The agency found that rationale partly through cooperation with the former Soviet Union. NASA seized the opportunity to partner with the Russians, and as a result cosmonauts and astronauts are living and working permanently on the International Space Station today.

NASA BRIEFING

Mission

To understand and protect our home planet
To explore the Universe and search for life
To inspire the next generation of explorers as only NASA can

Budget

2001 Budget: $14.2 billion^*
1985 Budget: $11 billion^*
1967 Budget: $21 billion^*

Staff

2001 Staff: 18,000
1985 Staff: 21,000
1967 Staff: 36,000

*2001 dollars

In 1997 a poll revealed that joint missions involving Americans and Russians was the space program most favored by adult Americans. The public has continued to support government spending for the civilian space program. The America's Space Poll shows consistently favorable support for NASA and space activities. No federal agency has higher favorable impression ratings among the public.

This public support has led to essentially stable budgets for NASA for over two decades. Early fluctuations in the budget reflected the Cold War-fueled Apollo program and its aftermath. Since a post-Apollo low in 1975, NASA funding has climbed from $10 billion to $15 billion.

NASA has succeeded in carrying out the bold objectives of the National Aeronautics and Space Act beyond expectations. When the national leadership has set a goal and articulated a rationale, NASA has produced results. From Apollo to voyages to the outer planets and beyond the solar system, NASA has given the public the Moon and the stars.

SEE ALSO APOLLO (VOLUME 3); APOLLO-SOYUZ (VOLUME 3); CHALLENGER (VOLUME 3); GEMINI (VOLUME 3); HISTORY OF HUMANS IN SPACE (VOLUME 3); HUMANS VERSUS ROBOTS (VOLUME 3); INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (VOLUMES 1 AND 3); MERCURY PROGRAM (VOLUME 3); SKYLAB (VOLUME 3); SPACE CENTERS (VOLUME 3); SPACE SHUTTLE (VOLUME 3).

Lori Garver

Bibliography

Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): History and Organization." June 9, 2000.

"Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the US Civil Space Program." Volume I: Organizing for Exploration. NASA SP 4407, 1995.

"Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the US Civil Space Program." Volume II: External Relationships. NASA SP 4407, 1996.

"Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the US Civil Space Program." Volume III: Using Space. NASA SP 4407, 1998.

McDougall, Walter A. The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 1997.

"Together in Orbit: The Origins of International Participation in the Space Station." Monographs in Aerospace History 11. NASA History Office, November 1998

"US Human Spaceflight: A Record of Achievement, 1961-1998. " Monographs in Aerospace History 9, NASA History Office, July 1998.

Internet Resources

America's Space Poll™. Space Foundation, April 2000. <http://www.spaceconnection.org/poll/>.

^*In 2002 NASA appointed Sean O'Keefe as the agency's tenth administrator.