When the satellite Sputnik orbited pulled ahead in the space race. The Cold War was on, and the United States scrambled to respond in kind. It had already developed a satellite under another national program, but it became clear that a dedicated space agency was in order. President Eisenhower and Senator Lyndon B. Johnson led the drive. It took one year from…
NASA s space shuttle was unlike any other spacecraft built during the 30 years the program was in operation. Unlike the much smaller capsules of the Apollo era, which launched on the tips of rockets and splashed back into the ocean, the jetliner-size shuttle was designed to streak into space using powerful boosters and return to solid ground as a glider. The…