NASA was created on October 1, 1958, evolving from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which was established in 1915 to promote aeronautics research. Key accomplishments include launching the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, and the Apollo missions, culminating in the historic Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. Looking ahead, NASA aims to lead in space exploration and scientific innovation, establishing a permanent presence in space.

1. NASA
F R O M N A C A T O N O W
• How and Why NASA was created?
• Who had the idea of NASA?
• Accomplishments of NASA
• NASA’s roots
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By: Jeff Cronk

2. W H E R E I T A L L
S TA R T E D - N A C A
• NACA stands for National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
• NACA was founded on March 3, 1915, by the federal government and
signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.
• NACA had 12, unpaid, highly qualified founding members including
William Durand (Stanford), S.W. Stratton (director; Bureau of
Standards), Brig. General George P. Scriven (Chief Signal Officer; War
Dept.), C.F. Marvin (Chief; Weather Bureau), Michael I. Pupin
(Columbia), Holden C. Richardson (Naval Instructor), John F. Hayford
(Northwestern), Capt. Mark L. Bristol (Director of Naval Aeronautics),
Lt. Col. Samuel Reber (Signal Corps Charge, Aviation), Dr. Joseph S.
Ames (John Hopkins), Hon. B. R. Newton (Asst. Secretary of Treasury)
and President Woodrow Wilson.
• NACA was established as an emergency measure during World War 1
to promote industry, academic, and government coordination on war-
related projects.
• The Act of Congress creating NACA, reads, “it shall be the duty of the
advisory committee for aeronautics to supervise and direct the scientific
study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution.”
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

3. N A C A A C C O M P L I S H M E N T S
• Cowling to improve the cooling of a radial engine
• Wind tunnel that can simulate air density at
different altitudes.
• Wind tunnel with slots in its wall that allowed
researchers to take measurements of aerodynamic
forces near supersonic speeds
• Design of an aircraft’s wing in relation to the rest of
the airplane in order to reduce drag and allow
supersonic flight.
• NACA engineer invented concept of the area rule,
resulting in a “coke bottle” shape
• One of the greatest contributions that NACA made
was the advancement of producing and widely
distributing its reports, memoranda, and notes,
which allowed the rest of the world to take
advantage of the research.
• Research and technology helped America win not
only one, but two world wars.
• Technology developed at NACA Labs helped
support national security during the Cold War.
• Laid foundation of NASA
• All of these contributions are still in use today, and
further opened doors to enhancement as research
methods and technology improved – namely, going
from the slide rule to the desktop computer.
<<<Julian Allen, famous aerodynamic engineer
Joseph Ames, John Hopkins professor and
longtime NACA chairman>>>

4. E N D O F N A C A , S TA R T O F N A S A
• The Soviets launch of Sputnik 1 in
October 1957 leads to American fears of
Russian space dominance, leading to the
formation of NASA.
• On November 21, 1957, Hugh Dryden,
NACA director, established the Special
Committee on Space Technology. This
was the nations first space program.
• On October 1, 1958, NACA was
dissolved, and its assets and personnel
were transferred to the newly created
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
• Original founders of NASA include President
Dwight Eisenhower, Engineer Wernher von
Braun, M.I.T. President James Killian,and
director of the National Science Foundation
Horton Guyford Stever
Top Left: Warnher Van Braun Top Right: James Killian Bottom Left: Sputnik 1 Satellite
Bottom Center: President Dwight Eisenhower Bottom Right: Horton Guyford Stever

5. S TA R T O F S PA C E E X P L O R AT I O N
• On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced its first astronaut class, the Mercury 7.
• The Explorer 1 was the first satellite to be launched into space from America. The satellite would orbit the earth once every 114 minutes for 12 years until the
transmission went black. Explorer 1 would stay in rotation around the Earth until 1970, when it finally burned up in orbit.
• On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy announced a new goal of getting a man on the moon and back by 1970.
• On June 3, 1965, Astronaut Ed White became the first American to successfully complete a space walk. The walk lasted 23 minutes.
• Launched on May 30, 1966, Surveyor 1, the first robotic spacecraft was sent to the moon to gather information. During a 30 day period, Surveyor sent 11,000
images of the surface of the moon and recorded data like temperature.
• The Apollo program was supposed to launch in February of 1967, but a fire in the control module during a practice run killed the crew before the mission
could take place. Apollo 1’s crew was Virgil Grissom, Ed White JR, and Roger Chaffee.
• Apollo 7 Saturn IB was launched in October 1968 , paving the path for lunar orbit and future Apollo Missions.
• Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to the Moon. The crew entered orbit on Christmas Eve in 1968 and later held a live broadcast showing images of the
Moon.
• On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 mission was launched to land on the moon. Buzz aldrin and Neil Armstrong were two crew members.
• On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 was launched and two days later would have an electrical error forcing the crew to use the Lunar Module as a “lifeboat” to get
home. The crew made it home successfully.

6. T H E S PA C E S H U T T L E E R A
• Viking 1 was the first spacecraft to land on Mars and explore the “Red Planet”. The unmanned spacecraft landed on Mars on July 20, 1976 and continued
sending data back to earth for 6 years.
• The Space Shuttle was the first reusable spacecraft to launch, carry people into orbit, recover and repair satellites, conduct research and help the ISS.
Between 1981 and 2011, 135 missions were flown by Space Shuttle fleet.
• Sally K. Ride was the first female to float in space.
• The Manned Maneuvering Unit was first tested successfully in 1984. The MMU allowed astronauts to move freely outside of the shuttle and without a tether.
• The Challenger Program in 1986 was a disastrous failure, when 73 seconds into flight the shuttle exploded due to a booster failure. All 7 crew members were
killed.
• The Endeavor (1992) was the replacement shuttle for the Challenger. The Endeavor, named by elementary schoolers, fly many successful missions.
• The Hubble Telescope was launched in 1990. The Hubble is one of the most powerful telescopes ever launched and is still in use today. The Hubble has
been crucial in research and observation of space and Earth.
• The Mars Pathfinder mission successfully landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. Pathfinder spent 83 days exploring Mars’ surface.
• On July 7, 2003, Rover named “Opportunity”, was launched along with a twin rover named “Spirit”. The rovers landed on Mars in 2004 and while Spirit lasted
6 years transmitting data from Mars, Opportunity was able to stay alive and transmit data for 15 years until 2019.

7. V I S I O N F O R T H E F U T U R E
NASA Wants to continue to be at the forefront of exploration and science. Nasa
will develop and transfer cutting edge technologies in aeronautics and space.
NASA will establish a permanent human presence in space. As NASA pursues
this mission, NASA will enrich the Nations society and economy.

8. C I TAT I O N S
• NASAtelevision. “We Are Nasa.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Nov. 2018,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeA7edXsU40.
• Administrator, NASA. “NACA to NASA: 100 Years of Aeronautics Innovation.” Tech Briefs, 11 Jan.
2020, https://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/pub/features/articles/21432.
• Barry, Bill, and Steve Garber. “Chronology of Defining Events in NASA History.” NASA, NASA, 3
Jan. 2012, https://history.nasa.gov/40thann/define.htm.
• NASA. “NASA's Amazing Achievements and Milestones.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 2021,
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/photos/photos-celebrating-60-years-nasa-56850073/image-
70142585.