While NASA intended for its first astronauts to be civilians, President Eisenhower directed that they be selected from the military. NASA established the Space Task Group to manage the program, which would conduct sub-orbital flights with the Army's Redstone rockets and orbital flights with the Air Force's Atlas launch vehicles. The Air Force's Man in Space Soonest and the Army's Project Adam served as the foundation for Project Mercury, the first American program to put people in space. Plans for human spaceflight began in the U.S. Main article: Project Mercury Launch of Friendship 7, NASA's first orbital flight, February 20, 1962 This left NASA firmly as the United States' civil space lead and the Air Force as the military space lead. NASA also proceeded to absorb the Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard, the Army's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency under Wernher von Braun. Īs the United States' premier aeronautics agency, NACA formed the core of NASA's new structure, absorbing its 8,000 employees and three major research laboratories. NASA was established on July 29, 1958, with the signing of the National Aeronautics and Space Act and it began operations on October 1, 1958. The Eisenhower Administration decided to split the United States' military and civil spaceflight programs, which were organized together under Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency. However, Project Vanguard was plagued by several issues and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency would launch Explorer 1, America's first satellite, on February 1, 1958. Despite NACA's early rocketry program, the responsibility for launching the first American satellite fell to the Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard. The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1 ushered in the Space Age and kicked off the Space Race. Launch of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency's Explorer 1, America's first satellite NACA's interest in space grew out of its rocketry program at the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division. After the end of World War II, NACA became interested in the possibilities of guided missiles and supersonic aircraft, developing and testing the Bell X-1 in a joint program with the U.S. Over the next forty years NACA would conduct aeronautical research in support of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1914 and established NACA in 1915 to foster aeronautical research and development. Determined to regain American leadership in aviation, Congress created the Aviation Section of the U.S. Despite being the birthplace of aviation, by 1914 the United States recognized that it was far behind Europe in aviation capability. NASA traces its roots to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Main articles: Creation of NASA and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics A U.S. History Creating a civil aeronautics and space agency

NASA's Launch Services Program provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for its uncrewed launches. NASA's science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons and planetary rovers such as Perseverance and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the James Webb Space Telescope, the Great Observatories and associated programs.

NASA currently supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, the Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. NASA has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. Established in 1958, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA / ˈ n æ s ə/) is an independent agency of the U.S.

Nasa news 2015 today