NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The NASA History Program was first established in 1959 (a year after NASA itself was formed) and has continued to document and preserve the agency's remarkable history through a variety of products.

A visit to the NASA History Office Web site opens doors to a significant collection of historical documents and resources. Browse through items about aeronautics, astronautics, biographical information on astronauts and key NASA officials, technical diagrams and drawings, mission patches and logos, detailed chronologies of air and space development, and special anniversary pages for such landmarks as NASA's birth, the first supersonic flight, the launch of Sputnik, the formation of the Mercury 7, the Apollo 204 (Apollo 1) fire, and the Challenger (STS 51-L) accident.

The Program publishes a number of new books on aerospace history every year, as well as several monographs. A number of publications are on-line, especially out of print books, in addition to a variety of other special Web exhibits and information sources. The NASA History Office also publishes a quarterly newsletter and an annual round-up of their activities. To get an electronic copy of their newsletter and to find out about new products and events relating to NASA history, subscribe to the history listserv (http://history.nasa.gov/listserv.html) The History Office also sponsors internships for undergraduate students.

The NASA History Office serves two key functions: fulfilling the mandate of the 1958 "Space Act" calling for NASA to disseminate aerospace information as widely as possible, and helping NASA managers understand and thus benefit from the study of past accomplishment and difficulties. Thus, in addition to serving internal NASA customers, the NASA History Program is of great interest to a wide panoply of outside citizens who follow aerospace activities such as scholars, journalists, and students. While most of the NASA History Office products are scholarly in nature, they are also largely accessible to interested broader audiences.

For more information about NASA history visit
http://history.nasa.gov/

Excerpt from the NASA History Office