Voyager Program: NASA launches the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the US and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Science.

Established in 1958 amid the Space Race, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the US space program a distinct civilian orientation focused on peaceful applications. Since then, it has led most American spaceflight programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo program, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS), and the ongoing multi-national Artemis program.

Bell X-1A in flight
Bell X-1A in flight (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Launch of Jupiter C with Explorer 1
Launch of Jupiter C with Explorer 1 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Voyager probes with the outer worlds
Voyager probes with the outer worlds (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Voyager spacecraft model
Voyager spacecraft model (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Watch: Cosmic Dawn (NASA+ Original Documentary)

From the NASA channel.

Sources and further reading: Wikipedia — NASA, Voyager program, Voyager 1 (CC BY-SA). Images: Wikimedia Commons.