Formation of NASA
JUL 29, 2016
President Eisenhower signed the order to authorize a new civilian space agency.
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.031275
On this date in 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The new civilian agency was created to match and surpass the Soviet Union’s efforts in space. NASA incorporated its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, in its entirety, along with parts of two military organizations, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the US Naval Research Laboratory. NASA began operations on 1 October 1958.
Date in History: 29 July 1958
© 2016. American Institute of Physics