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Updated October 1st, 2022 at 22:57 IST

NASA turns 64; read about the US space agency born out of the Cold War

NASA was officially established on October 1, 1958, after US President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act.

Reported by: Harsh Vardhan
NASA
Image: Twitter/@JimFree | Image:self
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has turned 64 years old as it was born on October 1 at a time when international politics was shaping the world order in the form we see today. Established in 1958, NASA was born during the peak of the Cold War when the US was in fierce competition with the now-defunct USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in areas ranging from economy, sports and even space. As one of the world’s most successful and oldest space agencies celebrates its birth anniversary, let us take a look at some major highlights of its origin, evolution and planned future. 

Early years

NASA was established after US President Dwight Eisenhower passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act in August 1958. The agency came into existence as the US had no intentions to fall behind Russia because the latter had launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite to orbit on October 4, 1957. After the official establishment of its space agency, the US quickly jumped into the space race as NASA launched its first satellite, the 38 kg Pioneer 1 just ten days later on October 11. Notably, Pioneer 1 was the first satellite launched under the jurisdiction of NASA, whereas, Explorer 1 which launched on January 31, 1958, was the first to be launched from US soil.

[Dwight Eisenhower (middle) with T. Keith Glennan, first NASA Administrator (right) and Hugh L. Dryden, Deputy Administrator (left); Image: NASA]

Following the end of Eisenhower's term, John F Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President of the United States on January 20, 1961, following which began a new era in the space race. 

NASA's first major milestone

While the agency had achieved many firsts after its formation, its biggest success-- landing a man on the Moon-- came in the late 60s under the Apollo Program. The goal of sending astronauts to the Moon was set by President Kennedy who vowed to reach the lunar surface by the end of the 60s. This also came in response to the Soviets launching Yuri Gagarin as the first human to space in April 1961. NASA's Apollo Program began with an unforgettable disaster as three astronauts burned to death.

Remembered as the Apollo 1 tragedy, it struck on January 27, 1967, when astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee failed to escape the command module when a fire swept in during their training. Investigations revealed that due to the high level of oxygen around, the module quickly caught fire and its jammed doors did not allow the astronauts to escape. 

[Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee (left to right); Image: NASA]

NASA made major improvements after learning from this incident and ended up landing the first pair of humans on the lunar surface in 1969 under the Apollo 11 mission. The mission carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins and on July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first pair to walk on the lunar surface. Following the Apollo 11 crew, NASA sent ten more men to the Moon before the Apollo Program ended with Apollo 17 in December 1972.

(Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins; Image: NASA)

What entailed the Apollo Program was the Space Shuttle era which saw many astronauts launch to the low-Earth orbit (LEO) for outer space experiments. However, the Shuttle era too was not devoid of tragedies which are remembered as the Challenger disaster and the Columbia disaster. On August 29, 1986, the Space Shuttle exploded 73 seconds after lifting off, a horrific incident that killed all seven astronauts on board. 

(The Challenger shuttle explosion; Image: AP)

Another human tragedy struck on February 1, 2003, when the Columbia spacecraft disintegrated while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. All seven crew members, including Indian-origin member Kalpana Chawla, were killed in the incident. It is said that the Space Shuttle was later cancelled altogether due to these incidents among other factors. 

NASA's most successful missions

After the heart-wrenching disasters, NASA has rarely failed in its missions and has launched a gamut of new expeditions that resulted in ground-breaking cosmic discoveries. While the agency never sent astronauts to space since the Space Shuttle Program, it has launched significant uncrewed missions and has contributed immensely to the development of the International Space Station. 

Over the last few decades, NASA has launched some major telescopes-- the now-retired Spitzer space telescope, the Chandra X-ray telescope, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), the IXPE (Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer) the Hubble space telescope-- which have unfolded unexpected mysteries around galaxies, black holes and exoplanets. Notably, NASA developed the Hubble telescope in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and launched the observatory in April 1990. It is also one of the five members of the ISS-- the others being Roscosmos (from Russia), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the ESA. 

(Webb telescope Vs Hubble telescope; Image: NASA)

The James Webb Space Telescope, which NASA developed with ESA and CSA at a cost of roughly $10 billion, is the latest one with the agency's name on it and it was launched on December 25, 2021, as the world's most powerful observatory. As for manned missions, NASA still sends its astronauts to space but avails launch services commercially through Elon Musk's SpaceX. So far, SpaceX has launched four missions, apart from a test flight in 2020, to the ISS and has been awarded multi-billion dollar contracts to do the job.

NASA's future plans

The agency currently has its full focus on the Artemis Program under which it would send astronauts back to the Moon after over fifty years. The program will begin with Artemis 1 which has been delayed several times since August 29 and is now being targeted for launch in mid-November. Artemis 1 will begin with an uncrewed mission and will be followed by crewed launches starting with Artemis 2, targeted for launch in 2024. According to NASA's current plan, it intends to land humans and this time the first woman on the Moon by 2025 under the Artemis 3. 

But this time, the agency is planning to do something more than just put footprints on the lunar surface as it is collaborating with its international partners to establish sustainable bases. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has said that the Moon will serve as a test bed for the agency to prepare humans for long-terms missions to Mars and beyond. NASA has even developed a brand new rocket-- the Space Launch System (SLS)-- which would liftoff as the most powerful rocket ever. Besides, it also has uncrewed planetary exploration missions such as the Europa Clipper which is targeted for launch next year to find signs of life on Jupiter's icy Moon. 

Meanwhile, the agency is currently celebrating the success of the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission to demonstrate the kinetic impactor technology that could one day save our planet from a planet-killing asteroid. 

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Published October 1st, 2022 at 22:33 IST

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