Analysis of The History of NASA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Analysis of The History of NASA - Research Paper Example This paper reviews the history of NASA: NASA’S formation, goals and objectives, greatest achievements in history, and also its administration. At the end of the paper, it is argued that NASA has indeed lived up to its mission and objectives and that it has been very successful in achieving its goals and objectives. Formation of NASA The formation of NASA as a fully-fledged government agency dedicated to the exploration of the outer space was sparked off by the historic launch of the satellite Sputnik 1 by Russia in October 1957 (Galloway, 2008). The launch of the Sputnik 1 Satellite by Russia was a monumental success for Russia in space science, and this action made Russia the leading country in space science explorations. The launch of the Sputnik 1 Satellite by Russia made the US feel insecure, the US government felt that Russia could use its superior knowledge in space science to harm them in one way or another. The US also felt that they had to do everything possible so as to reclaim their position as the world’s premier in space science and aeronautics. For these reasons, the use government set out in November 1957, to establish a government agency fully dedicated to the exploration of outer space. ... But following the Sputnik’s launch by Russia, the establishment of a more effective and robust government agency dealing with outer space exploration became a matter of agency. The US Senate, the Congress and the Executive began a process of establishing a government agency that would deal with matters of outer space explorations (Dick, 2008). On 6th February 1958, the Senate established a special committee on space and Aeronautics with the aim of exploring ways and means of establishing a space agency. The committee was headed by Senator Johnson. On the side of the Congress, a select committee on Aeronautics and space exploration was formed on 5th March 1958, and the committee was headed by John McCormack, McCormack was the house majority leader. On the executive side, President Eisenhower asked his science advisor James Killian to convene science advisory committee to deliberate on the issue of establishing a space agency. The Science advisory committee proposed the establis hment of a civilian committee built around the NACA (Dick, 2008). The committee presented their resolutions to President Eisenhower and the president approved their resolutions on the establishment of a space agency. In their deliberations, both the Senate and the Congress had also resolved that there was indeed an urgent need of establishing a space agency. On 2nd April 1958, President Eisenhower sent draft legislation to the Congress. The draft proposed establishment of a space agency by the name, National Aeronautics and Space Agency. The Congress, however, changed the name of the proposed agency to, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Ã‚