NASA

= National Aeronautics and Space Administration =  "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." -Neil Armstrong 

The launching of the Soviet Union's SPUTNIK 1 launched more than just a rocket. It was the trigger for NASA, founded on October 1, 1958. NASA was not the first space program in America though. The ACA (Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) was established on March 3, 1915, and a month later became NACA (the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics).  Connection: The launching of SPUTNIK 1 also motivated schools across America to enrich their science program, including CHA, who built their Klein science building as a response to SPUTNIK 1.



Exploration and Discovery Timeline: 

Project Mercury (1960): NASA launched the first production model of the Project Mercury spacecraft. Pioneer V (1960): NASA launched the Pioneer V probe off the Thor-Able-4 rocket on March 11. It studied particle energy, solar flare effects, radiation and magnetic field measurements from Venus. It set a communications record on March 13 when it communicated by transmitting radio signals at over 409,000 miles away. Gemini 2 (1965): NASA launched the Gemini 2 on January 19, using a launch vehicle called the Titan 2. The launch had been delayed due to hurricanes hydraulic pressure problems, but the mission was unmanned and successful. Pegasus 2 (1965): Launched on May 25 from the Kennedy space center, The Pegasus 2's mission was to measure meteoroids near earth. Apollo: On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced that the goal was to have Americans on the moon by the end of the decade. Apollo 1 (1967) : A fire swept through the command module of the Apollo 1 on January 27, during a preflight test on the launch pad of Cape Kennedy. The accident killed three Astronauts; Virgil Grisson, Edward White and Roger Chaffee.  Apollo 11 (1969): Launched on July 20. Apollo 11 was the first Space craft to land on the moon, putting America ahead in the Space Race. When Neil Armstrong stepped out on to the moon, the first words he said were, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." media type="youtube" key="RMINSD7MmT4" height="385" width="480" Galileo (1989): The Galileo probe reached Jupiter in 1995. It's mission was to conduct studies on Jupiter and it's largest moons. The information it sent back to Earth about Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, led scientists to believe that life was possible beneath the surface. Galileo conducted studies until it disintegrated in 2003.  -- Rosetta (2005) : Launched to catch a comet. Voyager 1 (2005) : The Voyager became the most distant human-made object in the universe at 8.7 billion miles from the sun. On May 25, it was announced that the Voyager had entered the heliosheath.  Atlantis (2010) : The Atlantis was launched on the STS-132 launchpad on May 14. Its mission was to deliver the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the International Space Station. It had smooth landing on May 26th, and is described as "smooth as silk," by the STS-132 Commander Ken Ham. Steve Kapp: NASA's first moonwalk: Natalie Kapp: So, where were you during NASA's first Moonwalk? Steve Kapp: I was ten years old, and I was at camp in New Hampshire, on Lake Winnipesake. We were in our cabins until late at night, and they woke us up, probably sometime after midnight. They brought us all to the camp auditorium where they had set up a television, and we all watched the first moonwalk on television. NK: What had you heard about the moonwalk before it happened? SK: Well we weren't getting newspapers at camp... but I think a few days before we had all watched the Apollo 11 land on the moon, and they didn't actually get till a few days later. NK: So did you watch the takeoff from earth and then the landing back on earth? SK: I think so. I can't really remember we watched a lot of different splash downs and takeoffs from the other Apollo programs. I definitely remember watching the moon walk and I definitely remember when they first landed on the moon. We probably watched the splashdown, I probably didn't watch the liftoff and we probably did watch the splashdown when they brought them back onto the ship, in the ocean. After they got back from the moon. NK: What had you heard about NASA prior to the Apollo projects? SK: Well I was probably too young, but I remember watching a few takeoffs and splashdowns from other projects, and I remember there were lots of Apollo space ships before Apollo 11. NK: How did watching the NASA moonwalk affect you? SK: Well at my age, everybody wanted to be an astronaut. NASA MISSION CALENDAR http://calendar.nasa.gov/calendar/ Connections:

http://20thcenturyhflc.wikispaces.com/Moon+Walk  Serena McNiff's page of research on the First Moonwalk in 1969

http://20thcenturyhflc.wikispaces.com/Sputnik Natalie Rohner's page of research on the Sputnik 1 **Natalie Shaw Kapp**