U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 is the United States federal statute that created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Act, which followed close on the heels of the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik, was drafted by the United States House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration and on July 29, 1958 was signed by President Eisenhower.
Prior to enactment, the responsibility for space exploration was deemed primarily a military venture, in line with the Soviet model that had launched the first orbital satellite. In large measure, the Act was prompted by the lack of response by a US military infrastructure that seemed incapable of keeping up the space race.
Watch: This Day in History: July 29, 1958: Eisenhower signs National Aeronautics and Space Act
From the ABC21 WPTA channel.
Sources and further reading: Wikipedia — National Aeronautics and Space Act, Dwight D. Eisenhower, NASA (CC BY-SA). Images: Wikimedia Commons.
