NASA turns 50

On July 29, 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Act (PL 85-568) was passed by Congress, creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ten months after the successful launch by the Soviet Union of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. The act, signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was drafted by the United States House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration. NASA replaced the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), established in 1915 to conduct aeronautics research and development.