The Gemini spacecraft did not dock with another spacecraft with people in it. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, was also on the first Gemini flight to dock with another spacecraft in outer space. Project Gemini proved that two spacecraft could rendezvous (meet and dock) in space. It was still small and cramped similar to the Mercury capsule, but allowed for more freedom of movement. The Gemini spacecraft was built for two men. Project Gemini (1961–1966) Ed White on Gemini 4: first US spacewalk, 1965Īfter the success of Mercury, NASA realized it had to start planning for its missions to the Moon. Less than a year after it began, the Apollo Program also began. Once the Mercury Project proved that humans could live in space, the Gemini Project was started. He did so in a spacecraft called Friendship 7. Less than a year later, John Glenn became the first American to orbit or circle the Earth. On May 15th 1961 astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space. After they proved it was possible for people to live in space they moved on. The Mercury Project space missions were designed by NASA, mostly to test if humans could survive in space. Their Army missile laboratory was transferred to NASA. They had helped build the V-2 missile in Germany during World War II and the Redstone missile for the US Army afterwards. German engineers and scientists led by Wernher von Braun helped them build rockets. Originally NASA was very small with only four laboratories and around eighty people working there. Space flight programs Project Mercury (1958–1963) John Glenn on Friendship 7: first US flight to orbit, 1962 This all happened at a time called the Cold War when the US and the Soviet Union were always very close to war. It caused a crisis known as the Sputnik Crisis as the Americans feared the Russians might start building weapons in space. The Soviets started first launching Sputnik 1, the first object made by people to go into orbit, in October 1957.

In the 1950s and 1960s there was a space race between the US and the Soviet Union - now called Russia. NASA was founded to compete with the Soviet Union in the space race. On Octothe agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NACA was a US federal agency founded on Mato undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. NASA was preceded by the ' National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' (NACA).

The current Administrator of NASA is Bill Nelson since April 2021.įounding and the Sputnik crisis NASA's motto is: 'For the Benefit of All'. NASA has had many successful missions, for example the ISS, and Apollo 11, which put the first man on the Moon in 1969. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that deals with space exploration and aeronautics, the operating and designing of planes.

Margaret Schaus, Chief Financial Officer.

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