NASA was created in 1958 in response to the Soviet Union launching Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. NASA incorporated the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, its employees, budget, and facilities. Early NASA launches included Pioneer 1 in 1958, the first from Cape Canaveral, and Pioneer 4 in 1959, which performed the first U.S. lunar flyby. NASA also launched monkeys Able and Baker into suborbital flight in 1959. The creation of NASA advanced U.S. technology and initiated the Space Race between the U.S. and Soviet Union.
2. What is NASA?
• NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration.
• They conduct their work in three different
organizations:
oAeronautics
oHuman Exploration and Operations
oScience
3. The Creation
• NASA was created on October 1st, 1958.
• It was created in response to Russia’s
launching of the Sputnik, the first satellite to
be launched into space by any country.
4. Getting Started
• After it was created, it incorporated into itself
the earlier National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics (NACA), along with its 8,000
employees, a yearly budget of $100 million,
three major research laboratories-the Langley
Aeronautical Laboratory, the Ames
Aeronautical Laboratory, and the Lewis Flight
Propulsion Laboratory-and also two of their
smaller test facilities.
5. LIFTOFF!
• On October 11th, 1958, the Pioneer I was the
first NASA launch from Cape Canaveral,
Florida.
6. Moving Forward
• Then, on March 3rd of 1959, the United States
sent Pioneer 4 to the Moon, successfully
making the first U.S. lunar flyby.
7. Monkeys in Space?... WINNING!
• On May 28th, 1959, The United States
launched two monkeys, Able and Baker,
aboard a Jupiter missile and recovered them
after a suborbital flight.
8. Why was the creation of NASA
important?
• The creation of the NASA program
played a major role in the
advancement of technology in the
United States.
• When the U.S. created NASA and
launched the Pioneer I, they entered
the “space race” with Russia. It made
Americans excited that they finally
got to see an American spaceship
launch into the sky. America could
finally get excited about something.
