The U.S. Congress passed legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian
agency responsible for coordinating America’s activities in
space, on July 29, 1958.

NASA has since sponsored space expeditions, both human
and mechanical, that have yielded vital information about the
solar system and universe.        
         

It has also launched numerous earth-orbiting satellites that have
been instrumental in everything from weather forecasting to
navigation to global communications.

NASA was created in response to the Soviet Union’s October 4,
1957 launch of its first satellite, Sputnik I.

President Eisenhower with Hugh Dryden and T. Keith
Glennan, August 19, 1958. Eisenhower (center) swears
in Dr. T. Keith Glennan (right) as the first administrator
of NASA, and Dr. Hugh Dryden (left) as deputy
administrator.