The Early History and Development of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
After World War II, the Department of Defense began a serious research push into the fields of rocketry and upper atmosphere sciences to ensure American leadership in technology. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in support of this effort, approved a plan to orbit a scientific satellite as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) for the period July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958, a cooperative effort to gather scientific data about the Earth. Quickly, the Soviet Union jumped in, announcing plans to orbit its own satellite.
On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The fledgling National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency absorbed the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) which was a U.S. federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel formed the core of the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Transcript of press conference regarding launching of Soviet satellite, October 9, 1957 (pages 2 thru 9 only) [DDE's Papers as President, Press Conference Series, Box 6, Press Conference Oct. 9, 1957]
Minutes of Cabinet Meeting, October 18, 1957 (pages 2 and 3 only) [DDE's Papers as President, Cabinet Series, Box 9, Cabinet Meeting of 10/18/57]
Memorandum, Dr. Killian to President Eisenhower, progress report regarding missile and satellite programs, December 28, 1957 [DDE's Papers as President, Administration Series, Box 23, James R. Killian 1957 (2)]
Memorandum of Conference with the President, Dr. Killian, et al, March 5, 1958 [DDE's Papers as President, DDE Diary Series, Box 31, Staff Notes March 1958 (2)]
Minutes of Cabinet Meeting, March 14, 1958 (page 5 only) [DDE's Papers as President, Cabinet Series, Box 10, Cabinet Meeting of 3/14/58]
Memorandum for Dr. Killian, Notes on NASA, April 10, 1958 [DDE's Records as President, Confidential File, Box 44, NASA (1)]
Memorandum for the President regarding responsibility for space program, May 10, 1958 [DDE's Records as President, Official File, Box 937, OF 342 NASA (1)]
Minutes of Cabinet Meeting, August 15, 1958 (pages 3 and 4 only) [DDE's Papers as President, Cabinet Series, Box 12, Cabinet Meeting of 8/15/58]
Memorandum for the Record, President Eisenhower's meeting with Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, July 7, 1958 [DDE's Papers as President, DDE Diary Series, Box 35, Staff Notes July 1958 (2)]
Letter, Maurice Stans to President Eisenhower regarding H.R. 12575, the National Aeronautics and Space Act, July 26, 1958 [White House Office: Records Officer Reports to President on Pending Legislation, Box 124, 7/29/58 HR 12575]
Statement by the President regarding H.R. 12575, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, July 29, 1958 [Kevin McCann Collection of Press Releases, Box21, July 1958]
Memorandum, Dr. Killian to President Eisenhower regarding four earth satellites, August 23, 1958 [DDE's Papers as President, Administration Series, Box 23, James R. Killian 1957 (2)]
Minutes of Cabinet Meeting, May 15, 1959 (page 2 only) [DDE's Papers as President, Cabinet Series, Box 13, Cabinet Meeting of 5/15/59]
Letter, Dr. Glennan to President Eisenhower regarding proposal to the Soviet Union relating to cooperation in space research, September 8, 1959 [DDE's Papers as President, Administration Series, Box 15, Dr. Keith Glennan-NASA]
Memorandum, Dr. Kistiakowsky to General Goodpaster regarding coordination of satellite and space vehicle operations, September 15, 1959 [DDE's Papers as President, Administration Series, Box 23, Dr. G.B. Kistiakowsky (2)]
Letter, Dr. Glennan to President Eisenhower regarding budget matters, October 20, 1959 [DDE's Papers as President, Administration Series, Box 15, Dr. Keith Glennan-NASA]
Memorandum for the President from Administrator of NASA and Secretary of Defense regarding responsibility and organization for certain space activities, October 21, 1959 [DDE's Records as President, Official File, Box 937, OF 342 NASA (4)]
Memorandum for Dr. Kistiakowsky on 1961 Estimates, November 14, 1959 [DDE's Records as President, Confidential File, Box 44, NASA (7)]
Letter, President Eisenhower to Dr. Glennan accepting his resignation as Administrator of NASA, December 29, 1960 [DDE's Papers as President, Administration Series, Box 15, Dr. Keith Glennan-NASA]
President Eisenhower and NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan
examine
photographs taken by TIROS-1, April 1960
TIROS 1 had been launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 1960. The spacecraft was 42 inches in diameter, 19 inches high and weighed 270 pounds. The craft was made of aluminum alloy and stainless steel which was then covered by 9,200 solar cells. The solar cells served to charge the on-board batteries. By January of 1961 it had produced more than twenty-two thousand photographs of cloud formations, and had given scientists comprehensive information on storm centers over such vast untracked areas as the southern seas. (NASA History Tiros-1)
President Eisenhower inspects the capsule from Discover XIII. L-R: Col. Lee Battle, Discoverer program director; Gen. Curtis LeMay, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff; President Eisenhower; Lt. Gen. Bernard Schriever; Secretary of the Air Force Lee
Battle; unidentified official; and Gen. Thomas White, Air Force Chief of Staff.
The Discoverer Program carried out 38 launches and achieved many breakthroughs in the process. Discoverer XIII, launched in August 1960, ejected a capsule that was subsequently recovered in the Pacific Ocean--the first successful recovery of a man-made object ejected from an orbiting satellite. Discoverer XIV, launched later the same month, also ejected a capsule, and it was recovered in mid-air northwest of Hawaii by a C-119J aircraft--the first successful aerial recovery of an object returned from orbit. The capsule of Discoverer XIV was the first to return film from orbit, inaugurating the age of satellite reconnaissance.
President Eisenhower with Marshall Space Flight Center director Werhner von Braun (pointing upward), September 8, 1960. On his way to dedication ceremonies for the Center on the morning of September 8, 1960, President Eisenhower paused before
a
test stand holding an enormous Saturn I booster. He turned to Wernher von Braun, the director of the new Center, and said that he had never seen anything like it. “They come into my office and say it has eight engines. I didn’t know if they put one on top of the other or what,” he told von Braun.
For a listing of collections at the Eisenhower Presidential Library with materials pertaining to this topic, please see: NASA Subject Guide.
