I. NASA history

Twelve years separated the first powered flight of the Wright brothers in 1903 from the creation of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Had Americans appreciated and understood the Wright accomplishment more fully, they might have institutionalized aeronautical research more quickly. When the NACA was finally created in 1915, it had to catch up with the rest of the world.

On March 3, 1915, President Wilson signed a naval appropriations bill that had an amendment creating the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The committee was to be made up ofnot more than twelve members appointed by the President including:

Two members from the War Department

Two from the Navy Department

One from the Smithsonian Institution

One from the Weather Bureau

One from the Bureau of Standards

The members of the committee served without compensation. The first member form industry was not admitted until 1939. Three positions were added in1929, and two more in 1948.

The duty of the committee laid out in the bill was "to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight, with a view to their practical solution, and to determine the problems which should be experimentally attacked, and to discuss their solution and their application to practical questions....the committee may direct and conduct research and experiment in aeronautics..."The sum of "$5,000 a year, or so much thereof as may be necessary," was appropriated for this task.

The name of the committee clearly identifies it as an advisory body to the President, and it reported directly to him and not through a cabinet department. However, the committee gradually moved away from an advisory or political role to one of research. With World War I looming, the committee formed research laboratory at Langley Field, but it was not established in timeto contribute to the war effort.

Members of the NACA over the years included:

Orville Wright

Charles A. Lindbergh

James H. Doolittle

Henry H. Arnold

Ernest J. King

David W. Taylor

Joseph S. Ames

Vannevar Bush

Jerome C. Hunsaker

Frederick C. Crawford

Harry F. Guggenheim

The NACA ceased to exist in 1958 when it became the nucleus for the newly established National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NACA was chosen as the basis for NASA because of President Eisenhower's desire for a civilian space agency.

October 1, 1958, the official start of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was the beginning of a rich history of unique scientific and technological achievements in human space flight, aeronautics, space science, and space applications. NASA’s first high profile program was Project Mercury, an effort to learn if humans could survive in space, followed by Project Gemini, which built upon Mercury’s successes and used spacecraft built for two astronauts. NASA’s human space flight efforts then extended to the Moon with Project Apollo, culminating in 1969 when the Apollo 11 mission first put humans on the lunar surface. After the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz Test Projects of the early and mid-1970s, NASA’s human space flight efforts again resumed in 1981, with the Space Shuttle program that continues today to help build the International Space Station.

Building on its NACA roots, NASA has continued to conduct many types of cutting-edge aeronautics research on aerodynamics, wind shear, and other important topics using wind tunnels, flight testing, and computer simulations. NASA’s highly successful X-15 program involved a rocket-powered airplane that flew above the atmosphere and then glided back to Earth unpowered, providing Shuttle designers with much useful data.

NASA has also done important research on such topics as "lifting bodies" (wingless airplanes) and "supercritical wings" to dampen the effect of shock waves on transonic aircraft.

Additionally, NASA has launched a number of significant scientific probes such as the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft that have explored the Moon, the planets, and other areas of our solar system. NASA has sent several spacecraft to investigate Mars including the Viking and Mars Pathfinder spacecraft. The Hubble Space Telescope and other space science spacecraft have enabled scientists to make a number of significant astronomical discoveries about our universe.

NASA also has done pioneering work in space applications satellites. NASA has helped bring about new generations of communications satellites such as the Echo, Telstar, and Syncom satellites. NASA’s Earth science efforts have also literally changed the way we view our home planet; the Landsat and Earth Observing System spacecraft have contributed many important scientific findings. NASA technology has also resulted in numerous "spin-offs" in wide-ranging scientific, technical, and commercial fields.

Bringing back memories of NASA's early successes, this logo dates back to 1959, when the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) metamorphosed into an agency that would advance both space and aeronautics: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). After a NASA Lewis Research Center illustrator's design was chosen for the new agency's official seal, the head of Lewis' Research Reports Division, James Modarelli, was asked by the executive secretary of NACA to design a logo that could be used for less formal purposes. Mr. Modarelli simplified the seal, leaving only the white stars and orbital path on a round field of blue with a red airfoil. Then he added white N-A-S-A lettering.

In the "meatball" design, the sphere represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red chevron is a wing representing aeronautics (the latest design in hypersonic wings at the time the logo was developed), and then there is an orbiting spacecraft going around the wing.

Known officially as the insignia, NASA's round logo was not called the "meatball" until 1975, when NASA decided a more modern logo was in order and switched to the "worm"--a red, stylized rendering of the letters N-A-S-A.

The use of "meatball" in aeronautics also predates NASA's round insignia, but not by much. In 1957, the U.S. Air Force referred to a "meatball of light" in its procedure for landing aircraft on aircraft carriers: "The mirror reflects a bright light astern and upward into a beam which the pilot follows straight to a landing by keeping the "meatball" of light precisely centred in the mirror."¹ This eventually became known as the meatball landing system.

In 1992, Administrator Dan Goldin brought NASA's meatball back from retirement to invoke memories of the one-giant-leap-for-mankind glory days of Apollo and to show that "the magic is back at NASA." Lewis' hangar and publications now reflect this change. But nostalgia has its price.

The NASA Insignia (more commonly referred to as the "meatball") reflects the history and tradition of the Agency and is used in all of the Agency's day-to-day communications materials. Designed in 1959 by former NASA employee James Modarelli, the NASA Insignia contains the following elements:

The NASA Logo has been retired since 1992. It is reserved for special use (such as for commercial merchandising purposes) and must be approved by the Visual Identity Coordinator at NASA Headquarters. The NASA Logo should never be used with the NASA Insignia.

The NASA Seal should be reserved for use in connection with the NASA Administrator, such as for award presentations, formal events and activities which are ceremonial or traditional in nature.

The Seal should never be used with the NASA Insignia. The two elements are intended for different purposes and are visually incompatible when seen side by side.

Contact the Visual Identity Coordinator at NASA Headquartes for advice on the use of the NASA Seal

NASA officials consider a variety of factors when choosing a name for a program. Sometimes the names are descriptive, like Skylab or the Space Shuttle. Some names honor famous scientists and explorers, like Galileo, Hubble and Magellan.

Others are chosen from classical mythology that relates to some feature of the mission. Mercury was the messenger of the gods. Gemini, Latin for twins, was appropriate because each Gemini mission carried two astronauts. Apollo was the god of the Sun, who spread knowledge.

II. Why NASA? Why explore space?

NASA also is a major supporter of university students and faculty across the country, through research agreements and educational fellowships that totaled more than $730 million in 1994.

The physical challenges and costs of space exploration also serve as a natural catalyst for peaceful international cooperation, improving the quality of life for people in many different nations.

Humans and robots each have their own special roles in space.

Robots are best qualified for missions that require precise, repetitive measurements or maneuvers, and for missions that last for a long time, such as trips to the outer planets.

Since the Challenger accident, NASA has followed a policy requiring that all robotic spacecraft be launched on expendable rocket boosters unless they require human intervention or some special capability of the Shuttle system.

Humans remain better equipped than robots for tasks that involve analytical decision-making or constant adjustments like monitoring microgravity experiments in protein crystal growth or looking for evidence of fossil life on Mars. By launching humans into space, we also gain unique insights into the workings of the human body, many of which are masked or changed by gravity when a person is on the Earth.

The Space Shuttle system also enables astronauts to carry out special duties that would be difficult or impossible for a robot to perform, such as the repair and retrieval of a damaged or malfunctioning satellite.

NASA's first high-profile program involving human space flight was Project Mercury, an effort to learn if humans could survive the rigors of space flight. On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American to fly into space, when he rode his Mercury capsule on a 15-minute suborbital mission. John H. Glenn Jr. became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962.

Gemini's 10 flights also provided NASA scientists and engineers with more data on weightlessness, perfected reentry and splashdown procedures, and demonstrated rendezvous and docking in space. One of the highlights of the program occurred during Gemini 4, on June 3, 1965, when Edward H. White, Jr., became the first U.S. astronaut to conduct a spacewalk.

The singular achievement of NASA during its early years involved the human exploration of the Moon, Project Apollo. Apollo became a NASA priority on May 25 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth." A direct response to Soviet successes in space, Kennedy used Apollo as a high-profile effort for the U.S. to demonstrate to the world its scientific and technological superiority over its cold war adversary.

In response to the Kennedy decision, NASA was consumed with carrying out Project Apollo and spent the next 11 years doing so. This effort required significant expenditures, costing $25.4 billion over the life of the program, to make it a reality.

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Neil A. Armstrong uttered these famous words on July 20, 1969, when the Apollo 11 mission fulfilled Kennedy's challenge by successfully landing Armstrong and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. on the Moon. Armstrong dramatically piloted the lunar module to the lunar surface with less than 30 seconds worth of fuel remaining.

Five more successful lunar landing missions followed. The Apollo 13 mission of April 1970 attracted the public's attention when astronauts and ground crews had to improvise to end the mission safely after an oxygen tank burst midway through the journey to the Moon. Although this mission never landed on the Moon, it reinforced the notion that NASA had a remarkable ability to adapt to the unforeseen technical difficulties inherent in human spaceflight.

With the Apollo 17 mission of December 1972, NASA completed a successful engineering and scientific program.

In total, 12 astronauts walked on the Moon during 6 Apollo lunar landing missions.

In 1975, NASA cooperated with the Soviet Union to achieve the first international human spaceflight, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP).

After a gap of six years, NASA returned to human spaceflight in 1981, with the advent of the Space Shuttle. The Shuttle's first mission, STS-1, took off on April 12, 1981, demonstrating that it could take off vertically and glide to an unpowered airplane-like landing.

On January 28, 1986 a leak in the joints of one of two Solid Rocket Boosters attached to the Challenger orbiter caused the main liquid fuel tank to explode 73 seconds after launch, killing all 7 crew members. The Shuttle program was grounded for over two years, while NASA and its contractors worked to redesign the Solid Rocket Boosters and implement management reforms to increase safety. On September 29, 1988, the Shuttle successfully returned to flight.

Like any other object in low Earth orbit, a Shuttle must reach speeds of about 17,500 mph (28,000 kilometers per hour) to remain in orbit.

The exact speed depends on the Shuttle's orbital altitude, which normally ranges from 190 miles to 330 miles (304 kilometers to 528 kilometers) above sea level.

Many communications satellites use a booster rocket to go to an orbit 22,300 miles [35,680 kilometers] high

Their names, in the order they were built, are Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.

The Enterprise was flown only within Earth's atmosphere, during Shuttle approach and landing tests conducted in 1977. Columbia flew the first five Shuttle missions, beginning in April 1981, and was modified to fly extended duration missions as long as 16 days. Challenger was built as a vibration test vehicle and then upgraded to become the second operational Shuttle. The Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost in a launch accident on January 28, 1986. Discovery made her first flight in August 1984, and Atlantis followed in October 1985. Endeavour, built to replace Challenger, made its debut in May 1992 with a dramatic mission that featured the rescue of a stranded Intelsat 6 commercial communications satellite.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour, the orbiter built to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, cost approximately $1.7 billion.

III. Organization & Strategic Plan

The core of the initial NASA workforce came from the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics and NACA's three major laboratories in Hampton, Virginia; Cleveland, Ohio; and Mountain View, California. NASA's initial workforce was supplemented by rocket scientists from the U.S. Army missile laboratory at the Redstone Arsenal.

The workforce grew moderately during the Agency's first several years as NASA added installations at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and in Greenbelt, Maryland; Huntsville, Alabama; and Houston, Texas. The workforce experienced explosive growth after President John F. Kennedy announced U.S. plans to place a man on the moon by the end of the 1960's. The Apollo Program achieved the first successful moon landing in July 1969, and the NASA workforce strength peaked the following year.

During the decade of the 1970's, the NASA workforce experienced retrenchments at all major field installations as well as the closing of several sub-installations. Several thousand NASA employees were terminated involuntarily during the mid-1970's.

By 1980, the workforce stabilized at a level near 21,000 and remained near that level until 1986. The Space Shuttle Challenger accident spurred reexamination of NASA and its workforce.

The workforce began to grow again, and fiscal year 1989 marked the largest single hiring year since the 1960's. NASA workforce peaked again in 1992.

The Clinton Administration took office in 1993 and initiated steps to reduce the size of the overall Federal Government workforce.

In September 1993, the National Performance Review led by Vice President Gore recommeded a reduction of 252,000 Federal employees by 1999. Subsequently, the Congress passed a Workforce Restructuring Act in March 1994 which legislated an overall reduction of 272,900 by 1999. In response to this direction, NASA began cutting its workforce during FY 1993.

NASA's workforce will continue to shrink during the balance of the 1990's. At the same time, the Agency will restructure its workforce to meet strategic goals, cut the number of supervisors in half, and reduce the positions involved in administrative work, especially in human resources, acquisitions, budget and accounting.

NASA's budget is funded in four appropriations categories: Human Space Flight (HSF), Science Aeronautics and Technology (SAT), Mission Support (MS), and the Inspector General (IG). All NASA research and development activities are undertaken under the HSF and SAT categories. The MS category funds NASA personnel, administration of programs, telecommunications, and space communications for agency-wide activities.

Since its creation, NASA has experienced both increasing and declining budgets. In the early 1960s, as the nation strived to put an American on the Moon by the end of the decade, NASA's budget steadily increased, peaking at $5.25 billion in FY1965. As other national priorities gained precedent, NASA's budget declined on an annual basis from FY1965 until it reached a $3 billion level in FY1974. After FY1974, NASA's budget once again began to increase steadily, peaking at $14.5 billion in FY1994. The recent national focus on reducing the federal budget deficit has resulted in a declining NASA budget. Its current year FY1998 level is $13.638 billion. The following figures depict NASA's budget from FY1959 through Administration proposed levels in FY2003. Figure 3 displays the agency's budget unadjusted for inflation. Figure 4 displays the funding in 1996 dollars. (The one-year spike in funding in 1987 was to build a replacement orbiter following the Challenger tragedy.)

NASA Headquarters, located in Washington, D.C., exercises management over the space flight centers, research centers, and other installations that constitute NASA. Responsibilities of Headquarters cover the determination of programs and projects; establishment of management policies, procedures, and performance criteria; evaluation of progress; and the review and analysis of all phases of the aerospace program.

NASA has established the five Strategic Enterprises to function as primary business areas for implementing NASA's mission and serving its customers. Each Enterprise has a unique set of strategic goals, objectives, and implementation strategies that address the requirements of the Agency's primary customers.

NASA began to conduct space missions within months of its creation, and during its first twenty years NASA conducted several major programs:

In the coming years, NASA will implement programs to achieve a three-part mission encompassing Scientific Research, Space Exploration, and Technology Development and Transfer. This mission describes what we are required to do in response to policy and legislative mandates. In implementing our mission, we will pursue answers to fundamental questions of science and research that provide a philosophical underpinning for why NASA exists and a foundation for our goals. The questions include:

IV. The future

What will the international Space Station, be used for?

International cooperation has been a fundamental part of NASA since the agency was formed in 1958. Over the years, NASA has signed more than 1,200 agreements with more than 135 countries and international organizations.

The agency's mission is divided into three main areas. Each of these mission areas has near-, mid-, and long-terms goals. NASA's three strategic missions are as follows:

V. Conclusion

Since its setting up in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats. NASA technology has been adapted for many non-aerospace uses by the private sector. At its 40^th anniversary, NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general. Perhaps more importantly, our exploration of space has taught us to view the Earth, ourselves, and the universe in a new way. While the tremendous technical and scientific accomplishments of NASA demonstrate vividly that humans can achieve previously inconceivable feats, we also are humbled by the realization that Earth is just a tiny "blue marble" in the cosmos.