NASA History
Since its founding in 1958, NASA has pushed the boundaries of scientific and technical limits to explore the unknown for all the citizens of our planet. Discover the history of our human spaceflight, science, technology, and aeronautics programs.
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66 Years of Aerospace Exploration
Forged in response to early Soviet space achievements, NASA was built on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), as the locus of U.S. civil aerospace research and development. Since October 1, 1958, when NASA opened for business, it has accelerated work on human and robotic spaceflight, and is responsible for scientific and technological achievements that have had widespread impacts on our nation and the world.
Discover Our History about 66 Years of Aerospace ExplorationNews and Events
The NASA History Office
The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 not only created NASA but directed it “to provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning NASA activities and the results thereof.” The sharing of information, including our history, has always been, and continues to be, a priority. Historians in NASA’s History Office do historical research, provide context, answer questions for NASA leadership, and share NASA’s History with the public.
Learn More About Our WorkDive Deeper
Explore interviews with aerospace legends, analyses of key events, aerospace chronologies, and more!
Since NASA’s founding, its History Office has developed history publications and conducted oral history interviews for the use of the general public. Connect with our resources to delve into your aerospace history research.
Explore our PublicationsPreserving Our History
And making it accessible to future generations
The NASA Archives works to preserve and provide access to historically and culturally significant records and material created by NASA, including our work in the fields of engineering and science, ensuring that they will be discoverable for generations to come.
NASA ArchivesA Wartime Necessity
In the newest publication in the NASA History Series, A Wartime Necessity: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and Other National Aeronautical Research Organizations' Efforts at Innovation During World War II, we see how research and technology were critical to the war effort, how unique contexts shaped what was possible, and how institutions were adapting to a drastically changing world.
Get the E-book about A Wartime Necessity