Since its founding in 1958 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA has become a world leader in space exploration discovery and travel Spurred on by competition with the Sovi et Union the United States realized it needed an agency solely dedicated to developing space technology and overseeing its space efforts NASA was thus created to plan direct and conduct aeronautical and space activities In a special message to the U S Congress on May 25 1961 president John F Kennedy said Now it is time to take longer strides time for a great new Amer ican enterprise time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement which in many ways may hold the key to our future on Earth NASA would indeed be the key to unlocking that mysterious enterprise in the decades that followed Without it people may not know what Mars looks like or how it is possible to conduct experiments in a space station Although its path has not always been smooth NASA continues to pursue its vision reaching toward new heights and revealing the unknown so that what it does and learns will benefit all
NASA's long running space shuttle program came to define the agency and make it visible to everyday
CHAPTER ONE Space Race Before Congress and the president created NASA in 1958 an organization called the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics NACA led the country's efforts in the skies NACA was established in 1915 as a cooperative effort among industry universities the military and the federal government The early years of aviation involved many accidents Despite its small staff of 12 volunteers and budget of only 5 000 NACA embarked on a mission to research flight problems and devise solutions to help aviation progress By the 1920s NACA had developed an impressive collection of in house wind tunnels engine test stands and flight test facilities In the 1930s NACA scientists encouraged to pursue their own research developed such break throughs as airfoil and cowling technology which allowed aircraft to be more streamlined and to use less fuel NACA also was responsible for designing the first aircraft to break the sound barrier On October 14 1947 U S Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager lifted off from Muroc Army Air Field now Edwards Air Force Base in Wind tunnels in such testing sites as Langley Research Center were inherited from NACA established
