By Allaire, Marissa, Maggie, and Kristie

THE FUTURE OF NASA AND OTHER SPACE PROGRAMS: WHAT’S NEXT?

A History of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

“WELL, SPACE IS THERE, AND WE’RE

GOING TO CLIMB IT.”

In 1915, the United States government established the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, otherwise known as the NACA. It was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.

Initially formed as a federally-funded agency for “emergency measures” during WWI, the NACA focused its energy on coordinating research and industrialization of fl ight-projects for the war eff ort abroad.

Throughout its 43-year history, NACA funded research for the improvement of fl ight safety, and whether the question of fl ight into space was even possible.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: THE NACA

THEN AND NOW: NACA (1915) & NASA (1958)

On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik into space, making it the fi rst object ever to be successfully launched and make a complete (unmanned) orbit around Earth.

Less than even a month later, the USSR outdid its astounding progress when, on November 3, 1957, it launched a second unmanned satellite into orbit around the Earth– this time, carrying a dog, Laika. Sputnik II proved , beyond the limited capability of laboratory, that a living creature could sustain life while in space, a fact heretofore unknown.

The success of the fi rst two Sputnik missions dawned the beginning of a new era, the race to the moon against the United States. A race that the USSR was already winning.

A RACE TO SPACE: THE USSR CHALLENGES THE US

A TIN CUP AND A SPACE PUP: SPUTNIK I & LAIKA

After the unprecedented success of the Sputnik missions in the autumn of 1957, the US government felt threatened by the USSR’s progress that far outpaced the grounded eff orts of the NACA.

And so, in the following January, the US– using rocket technology that had been developed over a decade earlier, during WWII- launched Explorer I, a 30-lb spacecraft that, while in orbit, discovered what are now known as the Van Allen radiation belts.

Explorer I was followed closely by the US Navy’s launch of the three-lb. Vanguard craft. Both missions, while not as spectacular as the showier Sputnik missions, nonetheless proved that the US was as capable of pursuing a space program– and thus Cold War-era tensions began to be played out among the stars.

A RACE TO SPACE, CONTINUED: THE US PLAYS BALL WITH THE SOVIETS

After the success of independently-funded US endeavors to space, NACA was deemed too-small an agency to keep up with the Soviets, who were already looking to skies again– this time, with men at the helm.

Thus, on July 26, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which would fund all of the United States’ future space endeavors.

Yet the congressional act brought up a question that left many in the States divided: Should fl ight to space– and, perhaps, even space itself– be a military controlled entity, or a civilian one?

“FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL MANKIND:” THE BIRTH OF NASA

This question was answered when, on October 1, 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration– or NASA, was offi cially formed as a federally-funded civilian agency.

NASA absorbed the NACA, along with its 8,000 employees, and was initially awarded a 100 million-dollar annual budget by Congress, along with three major laboratories as its base of operations.

In an open letter written entitled “Introduction to Outer Space,” President Eisenhower outlined his own goals for what such an ambitious agency should be to the United States, eight months before NASA was formed, giving the fl edgling agency its motto…

“FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL MANKIND:” THE BIRTH OF NASA

“These opportunities reinforce my conviction that we and other nations have a great responsibility to promote the peaceful use of space and to utilize the new knowledge obtainable from space science and technology for the benefit of all mankind.”

Excerpt from “Introduction to Outer Space,” by President Eisenhower.

MARCH 26, 1958

When the young, charismatic President John F. Kennedy was sworn into offi ce on January 20, 1961, his administration would usher in a new, ambitious era for NASA.

During his short tenure as President of the United States, Kennedy made NASA and the future of space fl ight among his top priorities, seeing it as an opportunity to spread democracy even into the outer reaches of space.

For JFK, ensuring the United States’ superiority in space fl ight technology and progress in space over the Soviet Union would mean a victory of democracy over communism– thus extending the Cold War from the Earth, to the moon…

FLY ME TO THE MOON: THE MERCURY, GEMINI, & APOLLO

PROJECTS

“First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon…But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon…it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.”

Excerpt from JFK’s jo int address to Congress, asking for addit ional funds for NASA.

MAY 25, 1961

The goal of the Mercury single-astronaut fl ight project was to investigate whether a manned fl ight would be possible.

Over a period of two years, a series of experiments were carried out to test the human body against anti-gravity conditions of outer space replicated in the NASA labs, as well as to design a capsule (pictured to the left) in which a human could survive said uninhabitable conditions.

PROJECT MERCURY (1961-1963)

On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., became the fi rst American to fly into space, and safely return.

His suborbital trip lasted just 15 minutes, but was crucial for it proved that man could survive exiting and re-entering the earth’s atmosphere.

THE MERCURY FLIGHTS

February 20, 1962: John H. Glenn Jr. successfully orbits the Earth, making him the first US astronaut to do so.

THE MERCURY FLIGHTS

Project Gemini encompassed a series of ten missions over a year

Focus was to send not one, but two astronauts into space, and creating a capsule large enough for such a mission.

PROJECT GEMINI (1965-1966)

On June 3, 1965, astronaut Edward H. White, Jr., co-pilot on the Gemini 4 flight, completed the first spacewalk.

GEMINI 4

Despite an incredible string of successful manned fl ights into space, NASA’s mission to reach the moon by the end of the decade nearly came to a halt when the program suff ered its fi rst major tragedy.

On January 27, 1967, astronauts Virgil Grissom, Roger B. Chaff ee, and Edward H. White, Jr., were killed when a fi re engulfed one of the fi rst capsules during Apollo I.

PROJECT APOLLO (1968-1972)

APOLLO I CASUALTIES

Born out of fi re and loss, the Apollo missions would nonetheless realize Kennedy’s dream of sending a man safely to the moon and back before the end of the decade.

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the fi rst humans to walk the surface of the moon, with astronaut Michael Collins manning piloting the successful landing on the lunar surface.

“ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND:” APOLLO 11

Two years after the successful moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission, April of 1970 saw another fl ight to the moon.

However, due to a compromise in the oxygen tank, the crew of the Apollo 13 mission would never make it to the moon– but the “failure” of the mission became a success in terms of NASA being able to bring the astronauts home safely.

By the end of the Apollo missions, of which there were seventeen, the US would land the moon fi ve more times.

“HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM:” APOLLO 13

Tragically, the capsule fire that killed three men during the Apollo I mission,

and the close call with Apollo 13, would not be the only tragedies to plague

NASA. In the 1980s and early 2000s, two more missions would go awry, taking the lives of fourteen US astronauts and one

civilian.

FAILURE TO LAUNCH: THE COLUMBIA AND CHALLENGER

TRAGEDIES

By the 1980s, NASA developed a new space craft, one that could sustain long-term fl ight and carry a more extensive crew: the space shuttle.

Despite having a successful launch in 1983, Challenger exploded mid-fl ight three years later, only 73 seconds into the air, ki l l ing its seven man crew, which included a school teacher, Christa McAuliff e.

After a formal investigation made by NASA, it was determined that structural failure was to blame.

JANUARY 28, 1986: THE SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER DISASTER

After a successful 28 t h mission, the space shuttle Columbia began its reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere when, at 8:59am EST on February 3, 2003, the shuttle disintegrated, kil l ing its seven-man crew.

NASA’s investigation into the incident revealed that a piece of foam insulation on the outside of the hull became loose during its initial launch, compromising the shuttle’s heat shields that would have protected the shuttle properly upon reentry.

FEBRUARY 3, 2003: THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA DISASTER

The Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters did much to damage the American public’s perception

of NASA. In the decades following the initial moon landing of Apollo 11, many Americans began to

question whether manned fl ights into space were worth the risk of losing anymore life.

~Indeed, NASA’s early years were fuelled by social and

political ambitions to extend American democracy beyond earthly borders, especially during the height of

the Cold War. But after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, much of the old “race to space” urgency has

been lost– which has lead to a loss of funding for the program that is, in President Eisenhower’s words,

meant “for the benefit of all mankind.”

DEALING WITH THE AFTERMATH OF CHALLENGER & COLUMBIA

What do you think about the future of NASA?

NASA DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

According to The Lamron, NASA, despite its continual progress, such as revealing more information about our galaxy’s origins and age via the Hubble Space Telescope– is in danger of major budget cuts that could potentially slow or halt such progress altogether.

With Obama’s budget proposed for 2014 cutting NASA’s funding by $300 million , do you think NASA is being unfairly targeted for budget cuts? What other programs could be cut instead?

NASA BUDGET CUTS: PUTTING THE FUTURE OF SPACE EXPLORATION ON THE

LINE?

Cassini mission

WHAT HAS BEEN ALREADY CUT?

WHAT HAS BEEN ALREADY CUT?

Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Offi ce (C3PO)C3PO creates privately owned and operated space

transportation systems and NASA acts as a lead investor and customer.

SpaceX and Orbital

NASA’S CURRENT ENDEAVORS

SPACEX: DRAGON

Free flying, reusable spacecraftDesigned to deliver both cargo and people into space In 2012, DRAGON became the fi rst commercial

spacecraft in history to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and safely deliver cargo to Earth

“Space exploration and the benefits it yields – in medicine and information technology- should not be overlooked” –Ben Barr Cat scans More functional artificial limbs Insulin pumps Ventricular Assist Device (VADs)

SPACE INVENTIONS BEING USED ELSEWHERE

The ISS is an orbiting laboratory as well as space port that is a collaborative eff ort between 16 nations

Benefits of the ISS for civilians Neurosurgical medical technology Water purification technology Agricultural monitoring Student amateur radio interaction Remote telemedicine

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Curiosity RoverMajor Objective: “Find evidence of a past environment

well suited to supporting microbial life” (NASA.gov) Mission succeeded

MARS EXPLORATION: CURIOSITY ROVER

The MAVEN Orbiter was “sent to study the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere over the course of at least one Earth year” (NBC News)

MAVEN: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutionLaunched Monday, 11/18/2013

MARS EXPLORATION: MAVEN ORBITER

“LADEE is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere, and determine whether dust is being lofted into the lunar sky.”

LADEE: LUNAR ATMOSPHERE AND DUST ENVIRONMENT EXPLORER

What now????

HOW IS SPACE FLIGHT CHANGING

AFTER FUNDING SHIFT?

FAA/AST Potential Regulatory Path-- Today Public Safety, Eventually Occupant Safety

MissionAssurance

Public Safety

OccupantSafety

Public Safety

Public Safety

OccupantSafety

CurrentFAA

Licensing

LicensingHuman

Spaceflight

FAA Certification

RoutineCommercial Space Travel

Time

CertificatesProductionAirworthinessAir CarrierPilotInstructionMechanicDispatchParts

European Union - “End-of-Life Vehicles Directive”

USEPA - “Recycling and Reuse: End-of-Life Vehicles and Producer Responsibility”

Reusable Launch VehiclesRLVS

Currently: Space shuttle

Spaceports or cosmodromes are sites for launching and/or receiving spacecraft.

New common term for sub-orbital launch spaces

SPACEPORTS

Spaceport America, New Mexico.

SPACEPORT LAUNCH-ASSIST MACHINES

MagLifter

SPACEPORT LAUNCH-ASSIST MACHINES

StarTram

SUB-ORBITAL SPACE FLIGHT

What is sub-orbital space flight?

What are it’s uses?

What are the prices?

XCOR AND SXC’S – LYNX (LMI/II)

BLUE ORIGIN’S – NEW SHEPARD

VIRGIN GALACTIC – “VSS ENTERPRISE”

VIRGIN GALACTIC – SS2 OR “VSS ENTERPRISE”

WORLD NEW ENTERPRISES

Balloon Trip into AtmosphereAt 98,425 ft or ~20 mi)

Cheaper option??Only 75,000 in 8 seater capsule

Release 2016

Dauria Aerospace in conjunction with Samsung and Roscosmos

MEANWHILE IN RUSSIA…..

Habitat Demonstration Unit- Deep Space Habitat

HDU-DSH

“Even in space,

there’s no place like

home.”

What do you think about the future of NASA? Pt.2

NASA DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Now that we’ve seen where we’re heading with less government assistance, is it worthwhile?

Was this a good or bad thing that privatization of the industry happened?

NASA BUDGET CUTS: PUTTING THE FUTURE OF SPACE EXPLORATION ON THE

LINE?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Maggie

Dunbar, Brian. NASA. NASA, 10 Apr. 2008. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

Dunbar, Brian. NASA. NASA, 14 Apr. 2008. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

"Excerpt from an Address Before a Joint Session of Congress, 25 May 1961." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

"JFK RICE MOON SPEECH."  JFK RICE MOON SPEECH. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Al la i re

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FA A/AST and USEU Contac t s FA A/AST powerpo in t f rom a p ress con fe rence J u l y 2013

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