The Birth of NASA

The words

1. Administrator

   T. Keith Glennan became NASA’s first administrator, with Hugh Dryden as his deputy. They were sworn in on August 19, 1958, before the agency opened.

   NASA: Glennan and Dryden (opens a new tab)

2. Aeronautics

   Research into flight.

   NASA inherited the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, founded in 1915. Its laboratories brought decades of flight research into an organization that also took on space exploration.

   NASA: opening day and inherited labs (opens a new tab)

3. Ames

   The Ames Aeronautical Laboratory in Mountain View, California, was one of three large NACA laboratories transferred to NASA on October 1, 1958. The new agency inherited existing research facilities.

   NASA: opening day and inherited labs (opens a new tab)

4. Civilian

   Under nonmilitary government leadership.

   The 1958 legislation made NASA a civilian organization overseeing nonmilitary space activities. It gave scientific space exploration a federal home distinct from the armed services.

   NASA: creating the civilian agency (opens a new tab)

5. Dryden

   Hugh Dryden had directed NACA before becoming NASA’s first deputy administrator. Glennan wanted him as deputy so that the new organization would retain continuity with its predecessor.

   NASA: Glennan and Dryden (opens a new tab)

6. Eisenhower

   President Dwight D. Eisenhower asked Congress for a civilian space agency in April 1958. He signed the law creating NASA on July 29, following negotiations with congressional leaders.

   NASA: creating the civilian agency (opens a new tab)

7. Glennan

   T. Keith Glennan was president of Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland when Eisenhower chose him to lead NASA. He took charge as the agency absorbed NACA and expanded into spaceflight.

   Did you know?

   NASA’s first headquarters occupied the Dolley Madison House in Washington. On opening day, Glennan addressed the headquarters staff gathered in its courtyard.

   First headquarters and opening-day address · NASA: Glennan and Dryden (opens a new tab)

8. Goddard

   On May 1, 1959, Glennan announced that the Beltsville Space Center would become Goddard Space Flight Center. Project Vanguard staff helped form its scientific and engineering core.

   NASA Archives: Goddard’s beginnings (opens a new tab)

9. Killian

   James R. Killian Jr. took leave from MIT to serve as Eisenhower’s science adviser after Sputnik. He chaired the President’s Science Advisory Committee during this period of space-policy debate.

   NASA History: James Killian (opens a new tab)

10. Lewis

    The Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland became part of NASA in October 1958. Its inclusion brought an established propulsion research laboratory into the new space agency.

    NASA: opening day and inherited labs (opens a new tab)

11. Lyndon Johnson

    Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson led hearings after Sputnik and chaired a bipartisan panel to reconcile the House and Senate NASA bills. He negotiated remaining issues with Eisenhower.

    NASA: creating the civilian agency (opens a new tab)

12. Silverstein

    Abe Silverstein moved from Lewis research leadership to headquarters in 1958 to help organize NASA. As Chief of Space Flight Programs, he planned satellite, probe and human space missions.

    NASA Glenn: Abe Silverstein (opens a new tab)

13. Space Act

    The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 created NASA when Eisenhower signed it on July 29. The agency began operating on October 1, a separate step from its legal creation.

    NASA: creating the civilian agency (opens a new tab)

14. Space Agency

    NASA united civilian aeronautics and space research in a new federal organization. Its full name became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

    Did you know?

    Legislative analyst Eilene Galloway urged Congress to use Administration instead of Agency, giving the new organization broader authority to coordinate with other government bodies.

    April proposal and congressional drafting · NASA: creating the civilian agency (opens a new tab)

15. Wallops Island

    The sounding-rocket test facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, transferred from NACA to NASA on October 1, 1958. It joined the research laboratories and high-speed flight test site in the new agency.

    NASA: opening day and inherited labs (opens a new tab)