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5/7/19
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NASA: Sputnik to Challenger
Over the years, NASA’s popularity has grown and shrunk. Although it has deviated from
its original purpose, and lost funding many times, the space program has remained one dedicated
to exploring the unknown. It was first created during the height of the Cold War, when tensions
between Russia and America were high. At first, it was originally founded as a weapon against
Russia, and a way to try and show America’s superiority. However, as time went on and the
program gained popularity, people began to view it as a symbol of pride, and were excited by the
missions. After a while, when the excitement wore off, the program almost fell apart, but the
Challenger Mission garnered interest. NASA’s goals changed over the years, from offensive to
exploratory, but it never lost sight of the goal to discover space and bring new knowledge to the
American people.
The original purpose of the space program was to beat the Russians to the moon, spurred
by the Russian’s success at getting into space. During the Cold War, everyone was aware that if
a county could send a rocket into space, it could also transport a missile. As a result, America
and Russia raced to fund space programs. However, when Sputnik was launched by Russia,
America realized that they had fallen behind. Sputnik was “about the size of a beach ball (58
cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98
minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path” (Steve Garber). It was the first successful
satellite, and it threw America into a panic. The government realized that they needed more
programs, directly funded by the government. In July 1958, Congress “passed the National
Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the "Space Act"), which created NASA as of
October 1, 1958 from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other
government agencies” (Steve Garber). This was the beginning of NASA, and the starting point
for many great discoveries. About ten years later, in 1969, the funding given to NASA paid off: a
man landed on the moon. As Neil Armstrong lands, “[w]ith more than half a billion people
watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: ‘That's one small step for a
man, one giant leap for mankind’” (July 20, 1969). This moon landing was the beginning of a
new era, and inspired many young people to become involved with NASA, or with the
government.
As years passed, however, people lost interest in NASA, but that interest was regained
when the Challenger Mission exploded. After the Cold War ended, there was no longer as much
of an incentive to create rockets for wartime purposes. As a result, demands for NASA went
down, and funding began to be directed away from it. Public interest in the program also
declined, forcing NASA to put out missions quickly, so people would still care. A study noted
that “by the 1980's NASA had taken on the characteristics of a more conventional government
bureaucracy,” had lost “a culture that ‘supported exceptionally high levels of performance for
tasks very difficult to perform” and had become the “NASA of the Challenger disaster and a
number of other technical failures" (John Krige). This climate of apathy was what caused the
Challenger disaster, as the space shuttle was not thoroughly tested before the mission. In 1986,
the Challenger shuttle exploded, killing all the astronauts who were in it. It was a tragedy that
shook the nation, but it did cause the public to become more involved in the space program. As a
result, "[s]afety margins were improved throughout... The concern for safety brought a number
of much-needed improvements in other areas of the Shuttle as well" (James R. Hansen). After
the disaster, NASA received more funds, as a result of the increased interest, and so was able to
continue with its goal. This goal had changed, as since there was no war, they had to focus on
something else. NASA settled on exploring. Although NASA lost some of its funding at one
point, the excitement and tragedy of the Challenger Mission brought it back, and the program
When NASA was first created, its main purpose was to compete with Russian space
agencies. However, as time went on, it began to be used for exploration, rather than competition.
As a program started during a time of war, NASA has done a wonderful job of continuing to be
relevant, and interesting to the public. Although the interest in the program, especially in hard
times for the country, has fluctuated, the fact that it has stayed funded is a testament to
America’s passion for space and for exploring the unknown. NASA’s purpose, throughout the
Primary Sources
Hansen, James R., and Allan J. McDonald. Truth, Lies, and O-Rings - Inside the Space Shuttle
NASA Content Administrator. "July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap for Mankind." NASA,
Secondary Sources
Garber, Steve. "Sputnik and the Dawn of the Space Age." NASA.gov, history.nasa.gov/sputnik/.
Krige, John. "Inside NASA: High Technology and Organizational Change in the U.S. Space
Paté-Cornell, Elisabeth, and Robin Dillon. Probabilistic Risk Analysis for the NASA Space
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0951832001000813. Accessed 30
Oct. 2018.