The Law That Created NASA
A rocket launches into the sky, but years of planning and research come before liftoff. In 1958, a new United States law helped organize that work in a national space agency.
On July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act. The law established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, known as NASA. Signing the law was an important step, but NASA did not begin operating that day. It started work on October 1, 1958, after time for the new agency to be organized.
The law gave NASA a civilian purpose. That meant the agency was not a branch of the military, although the law also recognized a role for military agencies in space activities. NASA’s work would include research into flight within Earth’s atmosphere and exploration beyond it. The law called for sharing information about NASA’s activities and discoveries with the public.
NASA built on work already underway. It took over the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, a government organization that had studied flight for decades. NACA’s laboratories and workers brought experience in testing aircraft and solving problems of flight.
- agency:
- An organization set up to do a particular kind of work.
- research:
- Careful study to discover information or solve problems.
- atmosphere:
- The layer of gases surrounding Earth.
- exploration:
- The act of traveling or searching to learn about a place.
- laboratories:
- Places where people conduct scientific tests and research.
- engineering:
- The use of science and math to design and build things.
- instruments:
- Tools used to measure or study something.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What is the main idea of the passage, and which two details support it?
- 2How were July 29 and October 1, 1958, important to NASA in different ways?
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About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“The Law That Created NASA” is a explanatory article reading passage about The creation of NASA, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (268 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.