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The
National
Aeronautics
and
Space
Administration
(NASA)
is
an
independent
agency
of
the
executive
branch
of
the
federal
government
of
the
United
States
responsible
for
the
civilian
space
program,
as
well
as
aeronautics
and
aerospace
research
President
Dwight
D.
Eisenhower
established
NASA
in
1958
with
a
distinctly
civilian
(rather
than
military)
orientation
encouraging
peaceful
applications
in
space
science.
The
National
Aeronautics
and
Space
Act
was
passed
on
July
29,
1958,
disestablishing
NASA's
predecessor,
the
National
Advisory
Committee
for
Aeronautics
(NACA).
The
new
agency
became
operational
on
October
1,
1958.
Since
that
time,
most
U.S.
space
exploration
efforts
have
been
led
by
NASA,
including
the
Apollo
Moon
landing
missions,
the
Skylab
space
station,
and
later
the
Space
Shuttle.
Currently,
NASA
is
supporting
the
International
Space
Station
and
is
overseeing
the
development
of
the
Orion
Multi-Purpose
Crew
Vehicle,
the
Space
Launch
System
and
Commercial
Crew
vehicles.
The
agency
is
also
responsible
for
the
Launch
Services
Program
(LSP)
which
provides
oversight
of
launch
operations
and
countdown
management
for
unmanned
NASA
launches.
NASA
science
is
focused
on
better
understanding
Earth
through
the
Earth
Observing
System,
advancing
heliophysics
through
the
efforts
of
the
Science
Mission
Directorate's
Heliophysics
Research
Program,
exploring
bodies
throughout
the
Solar
System
with
advanced
robotic
spacecraft
missions
such
as
New
Horizons,
and
researching
astrophysics
topics,
such
as
the
Big
Bang,
through
the
Great
Observatories
and
associated
programs.
NASA
shares
data
with
various
national
and
international
organizations
such
as
from
the
Greenhouse
Gases
Observing
Satellite.
From
1946,
the
National
Advisory
Committee
for
Aeronautics
(NACA)
had
been
experimenting
with
rocket
planes
such
as
the
supersonic
Bell
X-1.
In
the
early
1950s,
there
was
challenge
to
launch
an
artificial
satellite
for
the
International
Geophysical
Year
(1957–58).
An
effort
for
this
was
the
American
Project
Vanguard.
After
the
Soviet
launch
of
the
world's
first
artificial
satellite
(Sputnik
1)
on
October
4,
1957,
the
attention
of
the
United
States
turned
toward
its
own
fledgling
space
efforts.
The
US
Congress,
alarmed
by
the
perceived
threat
to
national
security
and
technological
leadership
(known
as
the
'Sputnik
crisis'),
urged
immediate
and
swift
action;
President
Dwight
D.
Eisenhower
and
his
advisers
counseled
more
deliberate
measures.
On
January
12,
1958,
NACA
organized
a
'Special
Committee
on
Space
Technology',
headed
by
Guyford
Stever.
On
January
14,
1958,
NACA
Director
Hugh
Dryden
published
'A
National
Research
Program
for
Space
Technology'
stating.
The
National
Aeronautics
and
Space
Administration
(NASA)
is
an
independent
agency
of
the
executive
branch
of
the
federal
government
of
the
United
States
responsible
for
the
civilian
space
program,
as
well
as
aeronautics
and
aerospace
research
President
Dwight
D.
Eisenhower
established
NASA
in
1958
with
a
distinctly
civilian
(rather
than
military)
orientation
encouraging
peaceful
applications
in
space
science.
The
National
Aeronautics
and
Space