NASA Full-Form: Secrets of NASA That No One Will Tell You

 

 

Description

NASA is an acronym for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. On October 1, 1958, NASA was created as a federal agency. NASA is in charge of all U.S. aviation and space science and technology.

Introduction

NASA is an acronym for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is a federal agency in the United States that oversees the civilian space program, as well as scientific research, aeronautics, and Earth and aerospace research. On October 1, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act. It mostly deals with the development of civilian (rather than military) applications in space research, and it is then supervised by the United States Science and Technology Agency, which oversees space exploration and airplanes.

An Administrator is in charge of NASA. From July 2019, Jim Bridenstine was the 13th Administrator of NASAA, while James W. Morhard was the 14th Deputy Administrator of NASA.

NASA's new administrator is Bill Nelson, incumbent Bill Nelson since May 3, 2021, is a familiar face in the space community.

 

Where Is NASA?

NASA's headquarters are in Washington, D.C. There are 10 NASA centers in the United States. Seven additional NASA research and development centers where scientists test and evaluate Earth and space are also available. Thousands of people work for NASA. Even though becoming an astronaut is the most well-known career at NASA, astronauts only account for a small percentage of the workforce. NASA has a large number of engineers and scientists working for them. Secretaries, authors, attorneys, and even teachers are among the other professions.

Ed White made history by being the first American to walk in space.

What Does NASA Do?

NASA is working on several projects. The building of satellites is overseen by NASA. Scientists can learn more about the Earth thanks to satellites. NASA is responsible for launching space probes into orbit. NASA scientists study occurrences both inside and outside the solar system. As part of a new mission, humans will be sent to the Moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA also shares its discoveries with the rest of the globe. Non-NASA employees can use NASA concepts to develop new products. These extraordinary technologies have the potential to improve humanity's standard of living.

Goals and Vision of NASA

The purpose of NASA is to advance and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity.

The primary goal and Vision of NASA are:

Extending human activity across the Solar System to improve sustainability and identify alternative sustainable options.

Increasing scientific understanding of the intricacy of the earth's structure, as well as analogous structures throughout the universe.

The creation and development of new space technologies are accessible to all.

Developing and testing new and advanced aeronautics research so that no distance appears to be too great.

NASA conducts aeronautics and space activities for institutions and groups to discover new possibilities and innovations.

NASA is responsible for sharing all data with the public via institutions, educators, and students to share knowledge and opportunities.

 

The Functions of NASA

NASA's headquarters are in Washington, and there are ten NASA centers across the country. It also houses seven NASA offices for the study and testing of Earth and space.

The functions of NASA are organized into four categories:

Aeronautics: It is in charge of developing cutting-edge aircraft technologies.

Human Exploration and Operations: This section is responsible for the management of manned space missions, the international space station, and operations relating to launching services, space transportation, and space communications for both manned and robotic exploration programs.

Science: It is concerned with programs aimed at gaining a better understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe's origins, structure, evolution, and future.

Space Technology: Its focus is on space science and technology advancements.

NASA’s Accomplishments

From the beginning, NASA planned for human spaceflight. During the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo projects, NASA learned a lot about space flight. As a result, in 1969, the first human landing on the Moon took place. Onboard the International Space Station, NASA astronauts live and work. Every planet in our solar system has been visited by space probes. Scientists have used telescopes to peer deep into space. The study of Earth's weather patterns is aided by NASA satellites. NASA also contributes to the development and testing of new aircraft. Several of the planes have set new records. NASA is attempting to make air travel more efficient and safe.

In 2022, NASA turned 64 years old!

Successful Programs by NASA

NASA has successfully launched several manned and unmanned space missions that have aided millions of people throughout the world. A list of all successful missions can be found below:

 

Foundational Human Spaceflight Programs
Program X-15 (1954–1968)

NACA's experimental rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft was developed in collaboration with the US Air Force and Navy. It was inherited by NASA. Beginning in 1955, three planes were built. At a speed of around 500 miles per hour (805 km/h), the release took place at an altitude of about 45,000 feet (14 km).

From the Air Force, Navy, and NACA, twelve pilots were chosen for the program. Between June 1959 and December 1968, 199 flights were completed, resulting in the official world record for the fastest speed ever achieved by a crewed powered aircraft.

 

Project Mercury (1958–1963)

Under the guidance of Robert Gilruth, NASA established the Space Task Group in 1958 to supervise their human spaceflight initiatives. The first of their programs was created during the Cold War conflict between the US and the Soviet Union. NASA took over the US Air Force's Man in Space Soonest program, which looked at a variety of crewed spacecraft designs, from X-15 rocket planes to compact ballistic space capsules. By 1958, the space plane concept had been abandoned in favor of a ballistic capsule, and NASA had renamed the program Project Mercury. The first seven astronauts were chosen from test pilot programs in the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space on Freedom 7, a 15-minute ballistic (suborbital) flight launched on a Redstone launcher. John Glenn became the first American to be pushed into space using an Atlas launch vehicle on February 20, 1962, aboard Friendship 7.

 

Project Gemini (1961–1966)

Project Gemini began as a two-man program in 1961 to overcome the Soviets' lead and support the Apollo crewed lunar landing program, adding extravehicular activity (EVA), rendezvous, and docking to its objectives. It was based on studies to expand the Mercury spacecraft capabilities to long-duration flights, developing space rendezvous techniques, and precision Earth landing. Gus Grissom and John Young flew the first crewed Gemini flight, Gemini 3, on March 23, 1965. In 1965 and 1966, nine missions were launched, proving a nearly fourteen-day endurance mission, rendezvous, docking, and realistic EVA, as well as gathering medical data on the effects of weightlessness on humans.

The USSR competed with Gemini by turning their Vostok spacecraft into a two- or three-man Voskhod under the command of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. They were able to launch two crewed flights before the launch of Gemini, including a three-cosmonaut flight in 1964 and the first EVA in 1965. The program was discontinued after this, and Gemini took over while spacecraft designer Sergei Korolev worked on the Soyuz spacecraft, Russia's answer to Apollo.

 

Project Apollo (1960–1972)

President John F. Kennedy urged that the federal government commit to a program on May 25, 1961. By the end of the 1960s, he hoped to have a man on the Moon. In this way, the journey of the Apollo program began successfully. It was because of popular opinion in the United States of the Soviet Union launched the first man into space and commanded the expedition.

Apollo was one of the most expensive scientific endeavors ever undertaken by the United States. It cost more than $20 billion in 1960s currency, which equates to an estimated $225 billion in today's US dollars. (By comparison, the Manhattan Project cost around $28.8 billion after inflation.) It utilized Saturn rockets as launch vehicles, which were far larger than prior projects' rockets.

In December 1968, the second crewed mission, Apollo 8, took astronauts around the Moon for the first time. The Soviet Union had just sent an unmanned spacecraft around the Moon. The next two missions practiced the docking operations required for the Moon landing, and the Moon landing was performed on the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.

Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot on the Moon. He was followed by Buzz Aldrin 19 minutes later, and Michael Collins was orbiting above. Five additional Apollo missions were launched after that, the most recent of which landed humans on the Moon in December 1972. Twelve men walked on the Moon during these six Apollo missions. These missions brought back a wealth of scientific information.

Apollo was a landmark moment in human spaceflight. It is the only country that has sent crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit and landed humans on another planet.

 

Skylab (1965–1979)

Skylab was the first and only space station established by the United States. The station, which was conceived in 1965 as a workshop to be built in space from a discarded Saturn IB upper stage, was built on Earth and launched on May 14, 1973. It was damaged during launch due to the loss of its thermal protection and one electricity-generating solar panel, but its first crew was able to restore it to working order. In 1973 and 1974, three different crews occupied it for a total of 171 days. It comprised a solar observatory and a laboratory for exploring the effects of microgravity.

NASA launched Skylab using one of the Saturn V rockets that had been set aside for a canceled Apollo mission to save money. Astronauts were transported to and from the station using Apollo spacecraft. 

 

Apollo-Soyuz (1972–1975)

On May 24, 1972, US President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin signed an agreement calling for a collaborative crewed space mission and stating their intention for any future international crewed spacecraft to be able to dock with each other. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was granted permission. It entailed the rendezvous and docking of a spare Apollo command and service module with an Earth-orbiting Soyuz spacecraft. The mission took place in July 1975. This was the last US human spaceflight until the Space Shuttle's first orbital flight in April 1981.

 

The mission comprised both collaborative and separate scientific experiments, as well as value engineering experiences for future US–Russian space trips, such as the Shuttle-Mir program and the International Space Station.

Human Spaceflight Programs in the Modern Era
Space Shuttle program (1972–2011)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, NASA's top goal was the Space Shuttle. To cut development costs, the design was revised to employ an expendable external propellant tank, and four Space Shuttle orbiters were produced by 1985. Columbia was the first to launch, on the 20th anniversary of the first human spaceflight, on April 12, 1981.

 

A spaceplane orbiter with an external fuel tank and two solid-fuel launch rockets were the main components. The only important component that was not reused was the exterior tank, which was larger than the spacecraft itself.

 

Spacelab was transported on 20 trips by the Space Shuttle (1983–1998), which was built in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA). Spacelab was not designed to fly in orbit on its own. It remained in the Shuttle's cargo section while the astronauts entered and exited via an airlock. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-7 mission on June 18, 1983. The launch and subsequent successful repair of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990 and 1993 were two more well-known missions.

 

International Space Station (1993–present)

The International Space Station is made up of NASA's Space Station Freedom project, the Soviet/Russian Mir-2 station, the European Columbus station, and the Japanese Kib laboratory module. Budget constraints forced NASA, and others to merge their projects into a single multi-national program in 1993. It was managed by NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA), the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The station is made up of pressurized modules, exterior trusses, solar arrays, and other components that were built in factories all over the world and launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, as well as US Space Shuttles. The on-orbit assembly began in 1998, and the US Orbital Segment was completed in 2019, while the Russian Orbital Segment was completed in 2010, albeit there are some disagreements on whether new modules should be added to the segment. Intergovernmental treaties and agreements control the ownership and use of the space station, dividing it into two parts and allowing Russia to retain complete ownership of the Russian Orbital Segment (save for Zarya), while the US Orbital Segment is divided among the other international partners.

 

The station will be the largest artificial satellite in Earth orbit by 2022, with a mass and volume greater than any previous space station, and will be visible from Earth. The first all-female spacewalk was supposed to take place on March 29, 2019, but it was postponed; On October 18, Jessica Meir and Christina Koch completed the first all-female spacewalk as part of a protracted series of upgrades to the International Space Station's power systems and physics observatory. The ISS mission is expected to last until 2030.

 

 

Constellation program (2005–2010)

While the Space Shuttle program was still on hold following the loss of Columbia, President George W. Bush unveiled his Vision for Space Exploration, which included the Space Shuttle's retirement once the International Space Station was completed. The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 has various provisions related to space exploration. In 2005, President George W. Bush signed the NASA Authorization Act into law. NASA's Constellation program was driven by the crewed exploration aspirations.

 

NASA revealed on December 4, 2006, that it was planning a permanent Moonbase. By 2020, the plan was to begin the construction of the Moonbase. This will become a fully operational base by 2024. It will allow for personnel rotations and in-situ resource use. The Augustine Committee, however, concluded in 2009 that the program was on an "unsustainable trajectory." President Barack Obama's administration suggested terminating public funding for it in February 2010.

Conclusion

Aside from all of the above, NASA is heavily involved in environmental and climatic research, particularly during natural disasters such as tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and other major natural calamities, to understand the root cause and behavior of the Earth's core and tectonic plates. NASA is also working on missions for space shuttle flights that use environmentally friendly fuels to safeguard the ozone layer and space pollution.