Happy 40th Birthday NASA
Credit & Copyright: Courtesy
KSC,
NASA
Explanation:
Happy Birthday, NASA!
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
officially began operations on October 1, 1958,
absorbing its forerunner organization the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NACA.
Its landmark achievements in
human spaceflight include the
Mercury and Gemini Projects culminating in the Apollo Project
moon landings in the 1960s and early 1970s,
Apollo-Soyuz and Skylab in the 1970s,
and the Space Shuttle program of the 1980s and 1990s.
(
Pictured is
the June 1998
launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery.)
NASA's science programs have produced the robotic exploration of
our Solar System,
views of the Universe across the electromagnetic
spectrum, and
valuable meteorological
and remote-sensing Earth observations.
At birth, NASA's priorities were largely driven by
the pressures and competitions of the Cold War.
But looking back over 40 years, the sum of its accomplishments have
produced needed new technologies and a vital new perspective on
Planet Earth and the Cosmos.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
