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Organization

NASA

US civilian space agency, created in 1958.

10 links, 10 backed by primary records

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Dates
1 Oct 1958 –
Also known as
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Over time
  1. Active 1 Oct 1958 –
  2. part of United States government 1 Oct 1958 –
  3. includes Marshall Space Flight Center 1 Jul 1960 –
  4. people who worked here Wernher von Braun 1 Jul 1960 – 1 Jul 1972

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which Dwight D. Eisenhower signed on 29 July 1958, as a direct outgrowth of the Sputnik 1 crisis.

Wernher von Braun directed its Marshall Space Flight Center. NASA later funded commercial partners, including SpaceX (2006) and Blue Origin (2023).

Connections 10

people who worked here

enacted by

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower 29 Jul 1958 Primary record 23

    Signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which created NASA.

awarded a contract to

  • Douglas Aircraft Company Dec 1961 S-IVB rocket stage Primary record 4

    The S-IVB was the upper stage of the Saturn IB and Saturn V. Its propellant tank domes and bulkheads were made at the Douglas plant in Santa Monica.

  • SpaceX 18 Aug 2006 $278M, Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration Primary record 56

    A funded Space Act Agreement with milestone payments rather than a conventional procurement contract.

  • Blue Origin 19 May 2023 $3.4B, Artemis V human landing system Primary record 7

involved in

part of

includes

followed from

Timeline 8 dates
  1. 29 Jul 1958 Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law NASA
  2. 1 Oct 1958 – NASA
  3. 1 Oct 1958 – NASA part of United States government
  4. 1 Jul 1960 – 1 Jul 1972 Wernher von Braun worked at NASA
  5. 1 Jul 1960 – Marshall Space Flight Center part of NASA
  6. Dec 1961 NASA awarded a contract to Douglas Aircraft Company
  7. 18 Aug 2006 NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX
  8. 19 May 2023 NASA awarded a contract to Blue Origin
Proof 9 sources
  1. Dr. Wernher von Braun (biography), U.S. Army, Redstone Arsenal historical office. Primary record
    On 1 July 1960, Von Braun and his team were transferred to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and became the nucleus of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center at Redstone Arsenal.
  2. National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (unamended), NASA, 29 Jul 1958. Primary record
    “National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958,” Public Law #85-568, 72 Stat., 426. Signed by the President on July 29, 1958
  3. Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age, NASA. Primary record
    During the summer of 1958 Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act and the president signed it into law on 29 July 1958.
    As a direct outgrowth of this crisis in the winter of 1957-1958, the administration worked with congressional leaders to draft legislation creating a permanent federal agency dedicated to exploring space.
  4. Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles (NASA SP-4206), NASA, 1980. Primary record
    The space agency seemed somewhat sensitive about the S-IVB contract, because there had been no bidders' conference or active competition by other firms. NASA awarded the contract to Douglas for reasons of cost and schedules
  5. Space Act Agreement between NASA and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. for COTS demonstrations (NNJ06TA26A), NASA, 2006. Primary record
    Total funding required from NASA for demonstration of capabilities A-C is $278M
  6. NASA hands out $500m for space wagons, The Register, 18 Aug 2006. Scholarship & press
    If all goes according to plan, SpaceX would earn $278m from NASA, while Rocketplane Kistler would pull in close to $207m.
  7. NASA Selects Blue Origin as Second Artemis Lunar Lander Provider, NASA, 19 May 2023. Primary record
    The total award value of the firm-fixed price contract is $3.4 billion.
  8. NASA Goddard's Beginnings in Project Vanguard, NASA, 16 Feb 2024. Primary record
    NASA transferred many employees from Project Vanguard to form the nucleus of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
  9. Sputnik, 1957 (Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations), U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Primary record
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