NASA

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

NASA, agency of the U.S. government, established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. The functions of the organization were conceived to plan, direct, and conduct all U.S. aeronautical and space activities, except those that are primarily military. The administrator of NASA is a civilian appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The administration arranges for participation by the scientific community in planning scientific measurements and observations to be made through use of aeronautical and space vehicles, and provides for dissemination of information concerning results. Under the guidance of the president, the administration participates in the development of programs of international cooperation in space activities. NASA's field installations include the Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md.; the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, operated under contract by the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena; the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Tex., which manages the space shuttle program; the John F. Kennedy Space Center, at Cape Canaveral, Fla., which is responsible for launch and recovery operations; and the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Ala.

With the advent of the space shuttle, NASA became more frequently involved in military activities despite its original intent as a civilian agency. Because of the long delay caused by the 1986 Challenger disaster, however, the military started expanding its own fleet of booster rockets. In 1996, NASA announced a $7-billion, 6-year contract under which the agency would gradually turn over routine operation of the shuttle program to private industry.

In 1998 NASA established the Astrobiology Institute at its Ames Research Center, Ames, Calif. The institute's purpose is to enhance research for new instruments and space probes to search for life in the solar system and beyond. It is a consortium of academic institutions, including the University of California at Los Angeles, Harvard University, and the University of Colorado, as well as the private sector and several NASA field centers.