National Aeronautics and Space Administration Twenty-Fifth Anniversary, 1958-1983

8/7/2019 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Twenty-Fifth Anniversary, 1958-1983

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National Aeronautics andSpace Ad min ist rat ionTwenty-f if th An n iversa ry1958-1983


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development of afternative sources of energy and newways to conserve it. finally, the technology generatedin all these mainline areas of research has beenreapplied, literally thousands of times, to produce abroad range of ind irec t benefits, or spinoffs.Thus, the response to the Congressional mandate of1958 has been impressive. The people of NASA can bejustly proud of the dramatic accomplishments madepossible by their dedicated labors. But they were notalone; their partners in progress include manythousands of others in industry, in the academiccommunity and in other government agencies. 1 extendan anniversary salute to all who Played a Part inmaking NASA's first quarter century an era ofunparalleled technologica l advance that contributedin great measure to our nation's social andeconomic future.

anniversary. It seems appropriate, on this occasion, tsum up how NASA has responded to the legislativecharter that established the agency.Among the responsibilities the Congress assignedNASA in the Nat ional Aeronautics and Space Act of1958 were these:- preservation of W.S. leadership in aerospace scienceand technology;- cooperation with o the r nations in the peaceful

application of technology;- expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in theatmosphere and in space;- pursuit of the practicalaeronautical and space

There can be no doubt that Nof effort has preserved tand strengthened its POand technology.As for international cooperation. NASA has -s inceits inception-fostered the concept that the fruits ofcivil space research are to be shared with all mankind.The agency has provided technical assistance toscores of nations and has actively promotedcooperative ventures; indeed, virtually every majorNASA space project today boasts some degree offoreign participation.planet, the near-Earth environment and the universe

m 7 /mes M. BeggsAdministratorNational Aeronautics andSpace AdministrationIn the last 25 years, man has teamed more about his

than in al l the prior years of history. NASA's spacescience program has spearheaded this great expansionof human knowledAnd, from thepursued the practica l benefits that aerospace reoffers. The agency pioneered in weather,communications and Earth resources survey satellites,the prime examples of space technology appiied forEarth benefit, and it has bui lt a broad base forexpanding into new applications, some of whichpromise direct benefits of exceptional order. Inaeronautical research, NASA has contribu ted insubstantial degree t o safer, better per forming, moreeff icient, more environmentally acceptable aircraft. Insupport of the national energy program, NASA has


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REFLECTIONS ON A SILVERANNIVERSARYNASAs 25 years of aerospace research have produced a wealth ofscientific gain and a bountiful harvest of benefits to Earths people

n anniversary is a time forA retrospection , for reviewing thepast as prelude to the future. AsNASA marks its 25th year, it isfitting t o recall the dramaticareospace happenings of the lastquarter century and reflect upontheir contributions to our modeof life.was the first official day of NASAsexistence. Ten days later, NASAlaunched its first spacecraft; theagency already had an ongoingaeronautical research program,inherited from a predecessororganization.The initial years were difficult,marred by many failures andpartial successes as the fledglingagency sought to find firm footingon the new and uncertain ground ofspace exploration. But in time thegrowing pain subsided and NASAbecame an organization known forit s exceptional competence andimaginative management, thespearhead of a US. technologicalthrust of monumental scale.Teaming with the aerospaceindustry and university researchgroups, NASA developed a broadbase for manned space activities,

It began on October 1, 1958; that

A 31 -pound tapered cylinder, ExplorerI , the first US . satellite, discovered oneof two radiation belts encircling Earth.Launched January 3 1 , 1958 by theArmy Ballistic Missile Agency, it wassubsequently turned over to NASA.

The Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft isrepresentative of a wide range ofaeronautical research projects conductedby NASA , independently or jointly withother organizations, in 25 years ofaerospace progress.


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Shown on its initial launch in April1YR.Z. the Space Shuttle OrbiterChallenger symbolizes .VAS.4'sbroadened capability fo r exploiting thepromise of space.

pioneered the use of space toexpand human knowledge andconcentrated much of its effort ongenerating direct public benefit.Simultaneously, the agencyconducted a highly productiveaeronautical research andtechnology effort.The operational weather andcommunications satellites nowroutinely serving the world3peoples trace the ir lineage toNASA's trailblazing work-inthe early 1960s-on space"applications," systems designed toprovide direct benefit. More recentapplications include a remotesensing system for bettermanagement of Earth's far fromlimitless resources and a life-savingsystem for improved internationalsearch and rescue operations.Projects now under way offerpromise of future benefit in suchareas as better protection of Earth'senvironment through improvedunderstanding of near-Earth space,and manufacture in orbit ofsuperior products that cannot beproduced on Earth.successfully operated scores ofspacecraft that investigated thenear-Earth environs, explored themoon, probed the far reaches of thesolar system and looked beyond, toincalculably distant galaxies. Thevast fund of scientific knowledge

In space science. NASA

thus acquired is among the mostimportant benefits of spaceresearch, although perhaps theleast understood. It is a benefit initself: knowledge. an immenselyvaluable commodity to any society.It is also a practical benefit, aresource for tomorrow'semployment, because science is thewellspring of technology; much ofthe knowledge generated willeventually find practical applicationin advancing technology.In its aeronautical program, NASAprobed the frontiers of atmosphericflight and produced a lengthysuccession of technologicaladvances that contributed to U.S.world leadership in aviation. Thispart of the NASA effort benefitsAmericans in many ways. It helpsUS. manufacturers build moreefficient commercial aircraft, withattendant benefit to the U.S.economy; it contributes tostrengthened national defense: ithelps reduce the costs of flight toairlines. their passengers andshippers: i t makes flight safer forall a irplane users; and it easesthe environmental impact ofthe airplane.Technology from all theseprograms-space science,applications and aeronauticalresearch-has spun off insecondary uses over a broadspectrum of public benefits. There

have been literally thousands ofsuch spinoffs, some of them onlyincremental improvements inproducts o r processes, many ofthem important advances ofsubstantia I eco n omic vaIue.Collectively. they add up tosignificant bonuses in publicconvenience, human welfare,industrial efficiency andeconomic gain.There is another, broader type ofspinoff. The extraordinary demandsof aerospace programs reach intovirtually every scientific andtechnological discipline. spurringinnovation in those fields to meetthe aerospace need. Sometimesthese aerospace-inspiredinnovations trigger momentousadvances in other areas oftechnology, to the benefit ofindustry and the national economy.For example, development ofsophisticated space systemsdemanded ever smaller but evermore capable microcircuitry. taxingto the hilt the ingenuity ofelectronic components designers.But they met the challenge of spaceminiaturization and, in so doing,were projected into explosivetechnological advance andmuItidirectional market ex pansion.Thus, the impetus of aerospacerequirements generated a parallelthrust in non-aerospacemicroelect ronics that resulted in abroad range of new applicationsfrom home computers to videogames to computerizedmedical systems.is the significantly expandedtechnology base built by thegovernment: ind ust ry!u nive rsit y tearnduring NASA's first quarter centuryof aerospace effort, a new andbroader plateau of technicalcapability that offers promise ofeven more dramatic achievements,even more rewarding applicationsin the years to come.

Perhaps the greatest gain of all


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1960Tiros 1, the first experimentalmeteorological satellite, introducedphotography of Earth's cloud coverfrom orbit, providing a new

informational input that greatlyincreased the accuracy of weatherforecasting. A series of Tirossatellites helped refinep hot og raph ic q uaIity, transmiss iontechniques and ground processingprocedures, paving the way fortoday's operational meteorologicaland environmental satellites.

1960

1958The newly formed NASAlaunched its first spacecraft,Pioneer 1, which failed to reachthe moon but climbed to a recordaltitude of more than 70,000 milesPioneer 1 was the forerunner of ahighly successful family of solarorbiting probes that exploredinterplanetary space.

1960

NASA began flight tests of theX-15 rocket-powered researchairplane that continued throughoutthe 1960s. The X-15 providedscientific data from altitudes ofmore than 40 miles, where man hadnever been before, and topped4,500 miles per hour, the fastest awinged vehicle had ever flown. Withthe X-15 in this photo is one of itspilots, who later became the firstman to set foot on the moon-NeilA. Armstrong.

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Packed inside a sphericalcanister and unfolded in space to100-foot diameter, Echo 1 was thefirst of two balloon satellites,experiments in reflecting radiosignals to relay communicationsbetween two poin ts on Earth.Visible to the naked eye, Echo 1stimulated interest in space on thepart of milli ons around the worldwho viewed it.


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1962~~ ~~

Astronaut John Glenn isshown preparing to board hisMercury spacecraft Friendship 7 forthe first U.S. manned orbital flight,three orbits, five hours. ProjectMercury involved six highlysuccessful one-man flights over atwo-year span: it provided a strongtechnological and managerial basefor the greater manned spaceefforts to come.

1961Perched atop the MercuryRedstone 3 launch vehicle is theFreedom 7 manned capsule thatinaugurated U.S. manned spaceflight only 23 days after the Sovietsorbited the first cosmonaut. AlanB. Shepard's suborbita l flight of15 '2 minutes duration was hailed asa momentous achievement and asign that the Soviet space leadwas narrowing.

1962With OSO-1. NASA initiateda series of six Orbiting SolarObservatories for continuousmonitoring of the physicalprocesses taking place on the Sunand the various types of solarradiation emitted. OSO-1 was thefirst of the "observatory class"satellites operated during the 1960sand well i nto the 1970s: large.multi-instrument spacecraft forcomprehensive solar. geophysicaland astronomical studies. they

represented a major advance inNASA's capabili ty for gatheringscientific data.


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In its continuing effort todevelop advanced technology forweather satellites. NASA launchedthe first of several Nimbusspacecraft. Nimbus had animproved camera system. aradiometer for taking cloud coverphotos at n ight and instruments foratmospheric measurements. allimprovements over the earlier Tirossatellites.

I966The photo below showsSurveyor on the moon, the first U Slanding on another celestial body itwas taken by Apollo astronauts whovisited the site four years laterSurveyor photographed the moonfrom surface level and conducted

experiments to demonstrate that thesurface would support a mannedspacecraft Surveyors companionwas the Lunar Orbiter, whichphotographed the moon from orbitIn 11 successful flights ( S IXOrbiters five Surveyors) the twospacecraft returned thousands ofphotos for use in selecting Apollolanding sites

Another first-a picture ofGemini 7 taken from Gemini 6 . thefirst photograph of an orbitingspacecraft. made during the firstrendezvous between two spacecraft.Along with the first U.S. spacewalk.the rendezvous was a highlight ofthe 1965-66 Gemini program, inwhich two-man crews flew 10successfuI missions.

1966NASA began a six-yearprogram of research on "liftin gbody" vehicles such as the M2F2shown. the first to fly amongseveral craft in the program. Liftingbody vehicles have no wings butderive lift from body contours andaerodynamic control surfaces. Theprogram provided data towarddesign of hypersonic aircraft andEarth re-entering spacecraft like theSpace Shuttle Orbiter.


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1966Shown undergoing pre-launchcheckout, ATS-1 was the first of sixApplications Technology Satelliteslaunched dur ing 1966-74 to provideorbital information towarddeveloping technology forapplications spacecraft, thosedesigned to provide direct Earthbenefit. The firs t five ATS made

a comprehensive study of thesynchronous orbit environment andtested a variety of experimentaldevices. ATS-6 conducted manydemonstrations of directbroadcasting, pioneering acommunications technique thatis growing rapidly today.

1968OAO-2 was the first of twosuccessful Orbiting AstronomicalObservatories; its companion,OAO-3 or Copernicus, was launchedfour years later. These bigobservatory class satellites,weighing well over two tons,brought a new dimension to spaceastronomy; with their arrays ofsensitive instruments and extremelyprecise star-pointing systems, theyprovided volumes of new dataabout the stars and galaxies.

1969This historic photo depictsone of the proudest moments in thehistory of the United States: theplanting of the American flag on

the moon, witnessed live or indelayed telecast by two-thirds of theworlds people. The astronautpictured is Edwin E. Aldrin; photoby Neil A. Armstrong. The flagspeaks eloquently of the Apolloprograms contribution to Americanprestige, as do the footprints in thelunar dust-all the footprin tsever made on the moon wereAmerican-made.In 1968-72, there were 11 mannedApollo flights involving 29astronauts, 12 of whom walked on

the moon; there were two mannedEarth orbital preliminaries, threecircumlunar flights and six lunarlanding missions. Apollo was mansgreatest feat of exploration, amonumental triumph of Americanscientific and technologicalprowess. It firmly reestablishedthe United States as worldtechnological leader and restoredan earlier-tarnished nationalreputation; it generated majoradvances across a wide spectrum ofscientific disciplines; and itdemanded technological giantsteps whose accomplishmentelevated the nation to a new plateauof capa biIity.


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1972

1971Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb ofLangley Research Center examinesa wind tunnel model fitted with a"supercritical" wing. an advancedairfoil that has a different shape: itis flattened on the upper surfaceand the trailing edge curvesdownward. These design features

delay the buildup of air drag at highspeeds, allowing an airplane to f l yfaster or farther fo r the sameamount of fuel. Whitcomb and hisLangley associates developed awhole family of supercritical wingsfor various types of aircraft. Nowfinding wide acceptance. thetechnology is considered one of themost important recent advancesin aerodynamics.

Pioneer 10 departed Earth.with Pioneer 11 a year behind. onman's first attempts to sendautomated vehicles beyond thesolar system. The two interplanetaryexplorers sent back data andphotos of Jupiter and Saturn. thencontinued onward toward infinity.Eleven years out of home portEarth, and still returning data.Pioneer 10 i s now at the edge ofthe solar system: Pioneer 11 is notfar behind. They will leave the solarsystem to roam for mill ions ofyears. perhaps forever. inintergalactic space.

1972Landsat 1 was the first of fourEarth resources survey satellites.each more advanced-thanitspredecessor. launched in 1972-82.Equipped with cameras andsensors. they offer a means ofmonitoring changing conditions onEarth's surface for practical benefitin such applications as agriculturalcrop forecasting, mineral and

petroleum exploration. forestmanagement, mapping. land usemanagement. water qualityevaluation and disaster assessment.NASA's development and interimoperation of the Landsats built afoundation for a possiblecommercial system with enormouspotential benefit in improvedmanagement of Earth's resources.


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1973Skylab was an interim spacestation, a large manned orbitinglaboratory that included the most

powerfu l telescope ever orbited, afurnace for experiments in spacematerials processing, and a broadarray of scientific instruments.Three three-man crews mannedthe stat ion in 1973-74 fo r staysof 28, 59 and 84 days. Skylabprovided important medical dataon the effects of long durationweightlessness; a great amount ofinvaluable astronomical and Earthresources data; and a technologybase for planning a permanentspace station

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1973Another first-Mariner 10provided the first closeup viewsof Mercury, smallest of the solarsystem's nine planets and themost difficult t o observe fromground-based telescopes becauseit is close to the Sun. En route toMercury, the spacecraft flew byVenus, adding new volumes ofinformation on that planet. Itmarked the first time a spaceprobe visited two planets on asingle mission.

HI1976

IA technological triumph ofApollo-like dimension, the Vikingprogram involved landing two

spacecraft on Mars, 40 millionmiles distant, and putting twoothers in o rbit around the RedPlanet. The Orbiters mapped theMartian surface and relayedcommunications from the Landers,which took photos of the surface,sampled the soil and theatmosphere, and conducted asearch for extraterrestrial life signs.


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1977Shown undergoing prelaunchvibration testing is one of twoVoyager spacecraft that returnedtens of thousands of photos andcountless volumes of scientific dataon Jupiter and Saturn during theirgrand tour of the solar system.Voyager 2 is en route to

encounters-in the latter 1980s-with Uranus and Neptune. neitherever visited by spacecraft. Theexciting odyssey of the Voyagersunderscores the extraordinary reachNASA has attained in its firstquarter century.

1978Representative of manytechnology advances accomplishedin NASAs Aircraft Energy Efficiency(ACEE) program the wingletpictu red is an aerodynamicinnovation designed to improvefuel consumption and generallyimprove airplane performance

ACEE is generating new technologyin aerodynamics propulsion.structures and control systemssome advances have already beenincorporated in new civil andmilltary aircraft


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1978NASA began flight tests of theQuiet Short-haul Research Aircraft(QSRA), which is demonstratingtechnology for solution of twomajor av iatio n probIe ms-a ir po rtcongestion and aircraft noise. A"propulsive lift" technique permitsthe QSRA to climb and descend atsteep angles and operate from veryshort runways; design factors andsoundproofing make the QSRAextremely quiet. The experimentalcraft is a pathfinder for futureshort-haul transports operatingfrom close-to-city airports, whichwould alleviate congestion atmajor terminals.

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1981A major milestone-theSpace Shuttle Columbia liftsoff the pad at Kennedy SpaceCenter on its maiden voyage.ushering in a new era of U.S.capability, an era of operationalregularity and expandedopportunities for the practicalbenefits space promises.

1983Launch of the Infrared

Astronomical SatelI ite (IRAS),shown being prepared for flight,inaugurated NASA's silveranniversary year. IRAS is makingan immense contribution toastronomical science by detecting"cold" objects that do not shine invisible light but emit radiation inthe infrared wavelengths. Itssensitive instruments havediscovered stars being born, starsdying, and galaxies so small and SOdistant they have been viewed onlydimly before, some not at all.


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STS-7 View From SPAS-01. This For Referencephotograph of the STS-7 orbiterChallengerwas taken from the ShuttlePallet Satellite (SPAS-01) on June 22,1983. The exoosure was made while Not to be takenSPAS-01 was flying in formation withSTS-7, providing the first picture of ataken from a second orbiting spacecraft.

The Canadian-built Remotefor OSTA-02, the empty Telsat AnikC-2 communications satellite cradle,the vacant Indonesian Palapa Bsatellite cradle near the aft bulkhead,the Ku-band antenna deployed nearthe forward bulkhead, and a numberof Getaway Special (GAS) cannisterscan be seen in this remarkablephotograph.

Space Shuttle in Earth orbit to be

Manipulator System (RMS), the pallet -- -

from this library-~ ,


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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Twenty-Fifth Anniversary, 1958-1983