Signing the National Aeronautics and Space Act
- Written
- July 29, 1958
- Place
- Washington
- Language
- English
- Kind of source
- statement
- Reading time
- 2 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Intensity
- Low: nothing violent; the background, given in the headnote, is the rivalry with the Soviet Union after Sputnik
Eisenhower’s statement on the law that created NASA runs to five short paragraphs. The longest of them is about a single clause on cooperation with other countries.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. Many Americans took it as a sign that the Soviets led in rockets. Congress began hearings that November. On April 2, 1958, Eisenhower sent Congress a plan for a civilian space agency. Scientists feared military control would tie research to weapons, and Eisenhower wanted to calm the rivalry among the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The final law gave space activities to a civilian agency and left weapons and defense work to the Defense Department. Congress passed it on July 16, and Eisenhower signed it on July 29.
The new agency was built on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, founded in 1915. Its staff of about 8,000 and its laboratories moved over, and NASA opened on October 1, 1958.
This is a signing statement, a formal comment a president issues when he signs a bill. Section 205 of the Act let NASA work with other nations under agreements the President made “with the advice and consent of the Senate.” That is the wording the Constitution uses for treaties. Read strictly, it could have meant that every joint project needed a treaty. Eisenhower said he read the section as allowing treaties, not requiring them. Less formal agreements, he said, were still possible. This was the President’s reading of the law; the words of the Act did not change.
Watch for how he places NASA in a story that begins with the NACA in 1915. Notice, too, the words “in appropriate cases,” which leave open who would decide which cases those were.
The edited translation, in simplified modern English. Bracketed words were added for clarity; [...] marks a cut. Tap a note number to read the note.
I have today signed H.R. 125751, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.
The enactment of this legislation is an historic step, further equipping the United States for leadership in the space age. I wish to commend the Congress for the promptness with which it has created the organization and provided the authority needed for an effective national effort in the fields of aeronautics and space exploration.
The new Act contains one provision that requires comment. Section 2052 authorizes cooperation with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to the Act and in the peaceful application of the results of such work, pursuant to international agreements entered into by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.3 I regard this section merely as recognizing that international treaties may be made in this field, and as not precluding, in appropriate cases, less formal arrangements for cooperation.4 To construe the section otherwise would raise substantial constitutional questions.
The present National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA),5 with its large and competent staff and well-equipped laboratories, will provide the nucleus for the NASA.6 The NACA has an established record of research performance and of cooperation with the Armed Services. The combination of space exploration responsibilities with the NACA’s traditional aeronautical research functions is a natural evolution.
The enactment of the law establishing the NACA in 1915 proved a decisive step in the advancement of our civil and military aviation. The Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 should have an even greater impact on our future.
Notes
- The House of Representatives’ bill number. Once signed, it became Public Law 85-568. back
- The part of the Act on international cooperation. It let NASA, under the President’s foreign-policy guidance, cooperate with other nations under agreements made with the Senate’s advice and consent. back
- The Constitution’s wording for treaties. The President may make treaties with the Senate’s advice and consent, if two-thirds of the senators present agree. back
- Agreements made by the government without a Senate vote. NASA’s first joint project, a satellite with Britain, began in 1959 with an exchange of letters, made formal by diplomatic notes in 1961, not a Senate-approved treaty. back
- A federal research agency founded in 1915 to advance research in aeronautics. Its three main laboratories were at Langley (Virginia), Ames (California), and Lewis (Ohio). back
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which the Act created. The NACA ceased to exist and its staff, property, and funds passed to NASA. back
I HAVE TODAY signed H. R. 12575, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.
I have today signed H.R. 12575, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.
- The House of Representatives’ bill number. Once signed, it became Public Law 85-568.
The enactment of this legislation is an historic step, further equipping the United States for leadership in the space age. I wish to commend the Congress for the promptness with which it has created the organization and provided the authority needed for an effective national effort in the fields of aeronautics and space exploration.
The enactment of this legislation is an historic step, further equipping the United States for leadership in the space age. I wish to commend the Congress for the promptness with which it has created the organization and provided the authority needed for an effective national effort in the fields of aeronautics and space exploration.
The new Act contains one provision that requires comment. Section 205 authorizes cooperation with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to the Act and in the peaceful application of the results of such work, pursuant to international agreements entered into by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. I regard this section merely as recognizing that international treaties may be made in this field, and as not precluding, in appropriate cases, less formal arrangements for cooperation. To construe the section otherwise would raise substantial constitutional questions.
The new Act contains one provision that requires comment. Section 205 authorizes cooperation with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to the Act and in the peaceful application of the results of such work, pursuant to international agreements entered into by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. I regard this section merely as recognizing that international treaties may be made in this field, and as not precluding, in appropriate cases, less formal arrangements for cooperation. To construe the section otherwise would raise substantial constitutional questions.
- The part of the Act on international cooperation. It let NASA, under the President’s foreign-policy guidance, cooperate with other nations under agreements made with the Senate’s advice and consent.
- The Constitution’s wording for treaties. The President may make treaties with the Senate’s advice and consent, if two-thirds of the senators present agree.
- Agreements made by the government without a Senate vote. NASA’s first joint project, a satellite with Britain, began in 1959 with an exchange of letters, made formal by diplomatic notes in 1961, not a Senate-approved treaty.
The present National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), with its large and competent staff and well-equipped laboratories, will provide the nucleus for the NASA. The NACA has an established record of research performance and of cooperation with the Armed Services. The combination of space exploration responsibilities with the NACA’s traditional aeronautical research functions is a natural evolution.
The present National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), with its large and competent staff and well-equipped laboratories, will provide the nucleus for the NASA. The NACA has an established record of research performance and of cooperation with the Armed Services. The combination of space exploration responsibilities with the NACA’s traditional aeronautical research functions is a natural evolution.
- A federal research agency founded in 1915 to advance research in aeronautics. Its three main laboratories were at Langley (Virginia), Ames (California), and Lewis (Ohio).
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which the Act created. The NACA ceased to exist and its staff, property, and funds passed to NASA.
The enactment of the law establishing the NACA in 1915 proved a decisive step in the advancement of our civil and military aviation. The Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 should have an even greater impact on our future.
The enactment of the law establishing the NACA in 1915 proved a decisive step in the advancement of our civil and military aviation. The Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 should have an even greater impact on our future.
Questions a reader might ask, with short answers and the sections they rest on. Checked in a separate review.
What happens
What law did Eisenhower sign on July 29, 1958?
The National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA, a civilian agency for flight and space exploration. He called it an historic step toward leadership in the space age and praised Congress for acting quickly.
What was NASA built from?
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, founded in 1915. Its large staff and laboratories became the core of the new agency, and the NACA itself ceased to exist.
Read section 4
Which part of the law did Eisenhower single out, and why?
Section 205, on working with other countries. It spoke of agreements made with the Senate's advice and consent, the Constitution's wording for treaties. Eisenhower said this allowed treaties but did not rule out less formal arrangements, and that reading it otherwise would raise constitutional questions.
Read section 3
Thinking further
Why does it matter who decides how NASA works with other countries?
If every joint project needed a treaty, two-thirds of the senators present would have to approve each one. Eisenhower's reading let the government cooperate with simpler agreements. NASA's first joint project, a satellite with Britain, began in 1959 with an exchange of letters. His words "in appropriate cases" leave open who decides which cases those are.
Read section 3
How does Eisenhower describe NASA's place in history?
As "a natural evolution" of the NACA's work, not a sudden break. He compares the 1958 law to the 1915 law that created the NACA, which he calls a decisive step for American flying, and says the new law should have an even greater impact on the future.
Who and what this source names, in the original. Each name links to every source in the library that mentions it. Not yet checked.
Ideas
- Spaceflight Travel beyond the earth's air: a dream and a fiction for Kepler and Hale, worked out in numbers by Tsiolkovsky, and a national program in the United States from 1958. Sections 2.
Organizations
- NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) The committee Congress set up on March 3, 1915, to “supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight.” Its laboratories, such as Langley, and its staff of about 8,000 became the core of NASA in 1958. Sections 4, 5.
- NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) The United States government's civilian space agency, created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. It began work on October 1, 1958, taking over the NACA's laboratories and staff. Sections 4.
- The United States Congress The legislature of the United States, the Senate and the House of Representatives. It created the NACA in 1915 and in 1958 passed the law that created NASA. Sections 2.
Places
- United States The republic that entered the First World War in April 1917. Its government recruited soldiers and sold war bonds with posters such as Flagg's Uncle Sam. Sections 2.
Dates
Page images of the original object or of the printed edition, from the libraries and archives that hold them. The pages shown are copied here where the holder marks them public domain; titles link to the holder's own viewer. Click a page to see it full size.
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1958
GovInfo (US Government Publishing Office). p. 573 (PDF page 617). US government publication; no copyright.
The printed volume, scanned in full, from which our text is taken.
Difficulty: Moderate, very short, but written in formal legal language; the footnotes explain the terms.
Fits these units
- Why go to space?. What reasons did leaders give for going to space, and whom were they trying to persuade? (Reaching Space)
- Imagining space travel. How did ideas about space travel move from stories to a national program? (Innovation in History)
Key terms
- signing statement
- a formal comment a president issues when he signs a bill into law
- enactment
- the making of a bill into law
- aeronautics
- the science and practice of flight through the air
- treaty
- a formal agreement between countries; in the United States, the Senate must approve it
- advice and consent
- the Constitution’s words for the Senate’s approval of treaties
- construe
- to explain or understand the meaning of words, especially in a law
Questions
- Comprehension
Which part of the Act does Eisenhower say “requires comment,” and how does he say he reads it?
- Analysis
Eisenhower calls adding space exploration to the NACA’s work “a natural evolution,” and reminds readers that the NACA was founded in 1915. Why might he present NASA as growing out of an older agency, and whom do you think he hoped to persuade?
- Analysis (reliability)
This statement is the President’s own reading of the law, and the words of the Act did not change. How far can it tell us what the Act says, and how far only what Eisenhower wanted it to mean? What other document would you read to check?
- Connection
Read We choose to go to the Moon. Eisenhower writes of “leadership in the space age” in a short written statement. Kennedy, four years later, spoke to about 40,000 people at Rice Stadium in Houston. Compare the reasons each president gives for a national space effort, and how the form of each source shapes what it says.
Activity
Students rewrite each of the five paragraphs as one plain sentence. In small groups, they decide which paragraph speaks mainly to Congress, which to other countries, and which to the public, and give a phrase from the text as evidence. Groups then compare their answers and discuss why the longest paragraph is about a single clause.
A printable worksheet for this source · More on Hearth Learning
Eisenhower’s statement is printed in English in Public Papers of the Presidents. Its spelling and punctuation are already modern. We set the opening words in normal case (the edition prints them in capitals) and write H.R. for H. R. Nothing else is changed; the wording, including “an historic step” and “the NASA,” is his.
The whole statement, about 260 words. The editors’ note printed below it is not included.
- Original
- Text as printed in the named edition or on the object, read from page images. Edition: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1958 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959), item 185, “Statement by the President Upon Signing the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. July 29, 1958,” p. 573. Digital copy: GovInfo, package PPP-1958-book1 (PDF page 617), text extracted by code and read against the page image. Eisenhower’s text only; the editors’ note below it is not copied.
- Editor’s review
- Not yet.
- Specialist review
- Not yet. Readings a specialist should confirm are listed for later review.
- Rights
- Original: public domain. Edition: public domain. Our translations and notes: CC BY-SA 4.0; credit “Hearth Library, hearthinteractive.com” with a link.
Sources for the notes
- Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1958. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959. Item 185, p. 573, read in the GovInfo PDF (PPP-1958-book1).
- National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85-568, 72 Stat. 426 (July 29, 1958). Sections 102, 205 and 301, read in the GovInfo PDF of the Statutes at Large.
- The Constitution of the United States of America, As Amended. H. Doc. 110-50. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2007. Article II, section 2, read in the GovInfo PDF.
- Logsdon, John M. “The Development of International Space Cooperation.” In Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program, vol. 2, External Relationships, edited by John M. Logsdon et al. NASA SP-4407. Washington: NASA, 1996. The pages on Section 205 and the first agreement with Britain.
- Uri, John. “65 Years Ago: The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 Creates NASA.” NASA History, July 26, 2023. https://www.nasa.gov/history/65-years-ago-the-national-aeronautics-and-space-act-of-1958-creates-nasa/
- Uri, John. “65 Years Ago: NASA Begins Operations.” NASA History, October 2, 2023. https://www.nasa.gov/history/65-years-ago-nasa-begins-operations/
- NASA Communications. “President Eisenhower Signs NASA into Existence.” NASA History, July 29, 2018. https://www.nasa.gov/history/president-eisenhower-signs-nasa-into-existence/
- National Park Service. “Eisenhower and NASA.” Eisenhower National Historic Site. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/eisenhower-and-nasa.htm