On July 29, 1958 the United States Congress passed legislation that created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, which is a civilian agency that handles the coordination of America's space activities. Since its creation, NASA has sponsored both human and mechanical space expeditions. All have provided critical information about our solar system and universe. NASA has also launched many satellites that orbit Earth. They are vital for providing information about everything from weather to global communication and more.
On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launched its first satellite, Sputnik I. This was the catalyst for the creation of NASA. Sputnik I was 183 pounds and orbited Earth in 98 minutes. Americans were caught off guard at its launching and it sparked fear and panic among many Americans. Americans feared that the Soviet Union would also be able to launch nuclear missiles from Europe to America. Not only were Americans caught by surprise, but they were embarrassed as well. The United States had always prided itself on being the leaders of technology, and immediately got to work to develop a response to Sputnik I. This sparked the beginning of the space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union.
Just about a month later, the Soviets launched Sputnik II on November, 3 1957. This time, it carried a dog named Laika. Come December, America launched its own satellite named Vanguard, but it exploded right after take off and never made it to space. Finally, January 31, 1958 things started to look up for the United States with the launch of Explorer I. Explorer I was the first U.S. satellite to successfully orbit the Earth. Come July of that year, Congress officially established NASA from other government agencies and showed the U.S.'s determination to win the space race.
In May of 1961, President John F. Kennedy made a bold statement. He said that by the end of the decade that America could put a man on the moon. And America kept that promise. On July 20, 1969 astronaut Neil Armstrong made history as part of the Apollo 11 mission. He became the first person to set foot on the moon, and famously declared "That's one small step for man, on giant leap for mankind."
Since then, NASA has continued to make great developments in space including being a part of building the International Space Station. They've also suffered great loss, like the crews killed on the Challenger in 1986 and the Columbia in 2003. In more recent years they haven't been as popular and even faced severe cutbacks under Obama's administration, which cut NASA's Constellation project completely.
