NASA was created to lead American spaceflight

On July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Calling the moment historic, he said the law was “an historic step, further equipping the United States for leadership in the space age.”

The new civilian agency was a direct response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik in October 1957, which had jolted American confidence and stoked fears of falling behind in missiles and space. Rather than build from scratch, the act absorbed the existing National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), transferring its people and labs.

NASA opened for business on October 1, 1958, at first working out of temporary offices in Washington’s Dolley Madison House under its first administrator, T. Keith Glennan. From those modest quarters would flow the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, carrying Americans into orbit and, eventually, to the surface of the Moon.