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NACA to NASA

Published on Jul 29, 2008 at 4:54 pm. 3 Comments.
Filed under NASA, history.

For my regular readers, I’ve been swamped, so I’ve not be able to keep up with my blog. But, this is something that I really wanted to say at least something about.

A little over a half century ago, the first satellite was placed into orbit by the Soviet Union. A few months later, the United States followed with Explorer 1. However, Explorer 1, wonderful as it was, was not what the president and his administration had been hoping for. For one thing, they wanted it to be clear that the United States was for pursuing peaceful endeavors in space. Granted, no sooner was the first satellite in orbit, but the Pentagon was trying to figure out how to use this for a military advantage, such as surveillance of our enemies. Still, Explorer 1 had science as its goal, not war. But, it was lifted into space by a modified weapon of war. A Jupiter missile had been adapted to launch Explorer 1. For months, the United States had been trying to get into space using the Vanguard rocket (itself, developed by the Navy, of course, but less militaristic). President Eisenhower really wanted a civilian agency to launch the US into space. Vanguard was being led by the NSF. But, it was the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, under Wernher von Braun, that put the first American satellite into orbit.

Now, the Soviet Union was not so concerned on how it looked for the military to be associated with spaceflight. Sputnik was launched by an R-7 missile: the first operational ICBM. Granted, as a weapon system, the R-7 left a lot to be desired, but the fact remains that it was developed as a weapon first. Even today’s Soyuz rockets are based on the R-7. But, Eisenhower wanted there to be a separation between the US military and space exploration. Granted, there often isn’t much separation, as even today unmanned rockets are frequently launched from military launch pads (or at least launch pads on a military base).

So, the Eisenhower administration pushed to create a separate civilian space agency. Eventually, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act. This act created NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Space engineering is quite similar to aeronautical engineering, so it made sense to combine the aeronautical research, astronautical research, and aerospace research into one agency. The United States, though, already had a government aeronautical research program, headed by NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. So, NACA was absorbed into NASA, along with several military installations, creating a civilian space agency. Since the military had rockets, and they had trained test pilots, there has always been a close association between the military and NASA, but NASA itself is a civilian agency.

The National Aeronautics and Space Act was signed into law by President Eisenhower 50 years ago today. NASA was not actually created then, however. The provisions of the new law didn’t kick in until October 1, 2008, but that step required the signing of the act 50 years ago today.