Space Exploration
Information about the United States’ space flight programs, including NASA missions and the astronauts who participate in the efforts to explore space.
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NARA Resources
Finding Aids for NARA Records on Space Exploration
- Guide to the Records of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Describes the records of NASA held by the National Archives. - Guide to the Records of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (The Rogers Commission Report)
Describes the records available regarding the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. - Guide to the Records of the U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Science and Astronautics
Explains the types of records available on the House Committee on Science and Astronautics and its predecessor committees from 1958 to the present. - Guide to the Records of the U.S. Senate: Committee on Commerce and Related Committees
Includes records of the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, 1958-1976.
Mars taken by Hubble Space Telescope.
(Courtesy of NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team)
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library And Museum: Space Sources
- The Early History and Development of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Provides digital images of records related to the establishment and development of NASA. - Sputnik and the Space Race
Provides digital images of records on Sputnik held at the Eisenhower Library, including press conferences, presidential addresses, and minutes to cabinet meetings.
John F. Kennedy Library & Museum: Space Sources
- Americans in Space
This multimedia site offers images of documents related to the space program, a transcript of John Glenn’s oral history, and more. - JFK in History: Space Program
This is a multimedia web site that offers audio and transcriptions of President Kennedy’s important speeches about space exploration. - Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center, November 21, 1963
Given by Kennedy on the day before his assassination, this speech discusses the role of medicine and health research in space exploration. The page provides a link to audio of the speech.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum: Space Resources
- Cooperation with the U.S.S.R. on Outer Space Matters, March 3, 1964
Memo from Johnson to the Administrator of NASA endorsing cooperation with the Soviet Union in space. - LBJ Library’s List of Holdings
Includes paper and microfilm NASA records. - Oral History Project: Interview with James E. Webb, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1961-1968, April 29, 1969
Recalls Webb’s tenure at NASA. - Remarks at the Signing of the Treaty on Outer Space, January 27, 1967
Celebrates the treaty which prohibited installation of "implements of war" in space, and the use of space or any celestial body for military purposes. - To the Moon: The American Space Program in the 1960s
Description of the exhibit set to run at the LBJ Library until the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, July 20, 2009. Provides a selection of exhibit highlights.
Richard Nixon Library: Space Resources
- National Security Council Files
Look for space-related information in the Folder Title List under box numbers 307, 308, 392, and 393.
Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum: Space Resources
- Telephone Conversation of President Gerald R. Ford With Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Crews Following Rendezvous and Docking of the Spacecraft, July 17, 1975
This conversation was broadcast live on radio and television. - White House Central Files Subject File OS: Outer Space
Contains materials from the Ford administration on planning, programming, researching, exploring, and developing outer space.
Picture of the Trifid Nebula taken by Gemini North 8-meter Telescope.
(Courtesy of the Gemini Observatory/GMOS Image)
Jimmy Carter Library and Museum: Space Resources
- Civil and Further National Space Policy, October 10, 1978
Establishes civil and further national policies on space programs and activities in compliance with the National Space Policy.
- A Coherent U.S. Space Policy, March 28, 1977
Directs the Policy Review Committee to develop an overall statement of national goals in space. - National Space Policy, May 11, 1978
Explains the national policies in regard to the conduct of space-related programs and activities.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Space Resources
- Public Papers of the President: Ronald Reagan, 1981-1989
This collection of statements, speeches and papers released by the Office of the Press Secretary during the Reagan Presidency includes the Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, January 28, 1986; Proclamation 5434, January 28, 1986 which orders flags to be flown at half-staff in memory of the seven astronauts of the Challenger; Remarks at the Memorial Service for the Crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger, January 31, 1986; and Executive Order 12546, February 3, 1986 which establishes a Presidential Commission to examine the circumstances surrounding the Challenger explosion. - Resources at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Future of Space: Commercialization, Technology Transfer, International Cooperation, and the Space Station
Includes a list of documents that can be found in the Archival Research Catalog (ARC).
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum: Space Resources
- Beyond the Moon: NASA’s Continuing Mission
Web page describing an exhibit which is set to run from September 19, 2008 to August 23, 2009 at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Includes links to forther information, such as songs used to awaken astronauts on space missions. - Remarks to the Crewmembers of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Winners of the Orbiter-Naming Competition
Transcript of a speech made by President Bush on May 16, 1989. - Remarks to the Young Astronaut Council and a Teleconference With the Crew of Space Shuttle Discovery
Drawn from the Public Papers of the President, this web page provides the transcript of a speech made by President Bush and a teleconference with shuttle astronauts on January 24, 1992.
Clinton Presidential Materials Project: Space Resources
- Fact Sheet: National Space Policy, September 19, 1996
Details the goals and guidelines of the future of America’s space policy. - The Future Management and Use of the U.S. Space Launch Bases and Ranges, February 8, 2000
Examines the role of government agencies and the U.S. commercial space sector in the policy and management issues of space launches. - Joint Statement of the Space Station Partnership, December 6, 1993
Announces the invitation to Russia to join the international Partnership.
- Remarks by the President and Colonel Eileen Collins at the Announcement of First Woman Shuttle Commander, March 5, 1998
Includes the text of the speeches of the first woman shuttle commander, Col. Eileen Collins, and President Clinton. - Space Station, June 19, 1998
Staff paper prepared for the President’s Commission to Study Capital Budgeting, describes the investment needed for a space station. - Space Station Redesign, July 17, 1993
History of the redesign of the Space Station programs under President Clinton, includes the pertinent reports. - Statement on National Space Transportation Policy, August 5, 1994
Outlines a clear course for the nation’s space program, providing a coherent strategy for supporting and strengthening U.S. space launch capability.
Neptune taken by Voyager spacecraft.
(Courtesy of NASA, JPL, and CALTech)
Space Exploration Timeline
Documents achievements in space since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957.
General Space Exploration Resources
- Apollo to the Moon
Extensive site by the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, covers the history of spaceflight. - Astronaut Fact Book (2005)
Gives information on astronaut candidate selection and astronaut alma maters; lists former and current astronauts. - A Brief History of Animals in Space
Information about the use of animals to test the effect of space flight on living organisms. - Encyclopedia Astronautica
Entries on all things space-related. - Johnson Space Center (JSC) Digital Image Collection
Image database of NASA’s flights. - Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and President Vladimir VP Putin on U.S.-Russian Cooperation in Space, June 1, 2003
Confirms the U.S. and Russia’s mutual commitment to maintaining the work done on the International Space Station.
Jupiter’s red spot taken by Voyager spacecraft.
(Courtesy of NASA, JPL, and CALTech)
- Legislative Origins of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Act of 1958
Chronicles the history of the act creating NASA, includes oral histories of those who were instrumental in its creation. - NASA Human Spaceflight
Contains extensive information about the various space programs, including the shuttles and the space station, plus a look behind the scenes of manned space missions. - NASA Image eXchange (NIX)
NIX is a web-based search engine for searching one or more of NASA’s online multimedia collections consisting of photos, images, movies, videos, and audio. The database can also be browsed by several categories, such as aircraft, education, projects, and space flights. - NASA Images
This web site, created by Internet Archive, provides public access to images, video, and audio created by NASA. Images are organized by category: Universe, Solar System, Earth, Aeronautics, and Astronauts. The site also features an interactive timeline of spaceflight. - National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958
Public Law #85-568, 72 Stat. 426, establishes NASA and is designed to "provide for research into problems of flight within and outside the earth’s atmosphere." - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Official site, full of historical and up-to-date information on the space program. - Solar System
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory site, gives information about and images from NASA’s unmanned spacecraft. Includes the Solar System Simulator, which allows the user to see one planet from the perspective of satellites and other planets. - Space Station
Based on the PBS program, examines the financial, technical and political challenges of creating the International Space Station through questions, interactive activities, and images. - Space Today
Covers general space topics, including current events, history, and lesson plans. - StarDate Online
Maintained by the University of Texas McDonald Observatory, offers tips for stargazers, astronomy education, and lesson plans. - Views of the Solar System
Photos and scientific information, including history of space exploration, rocketry, early astronauts, space missions, spacecraft through the use of text, graphics, images, and videos. - Windows to the Universe
Features interactive resources on Earth and space sciences; graphics intensive site.
Fireworks at star formation taken by Hubble Space Telescope.
(Courtesy of NASA and the Hubble Heritage
Team)
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports: Space
- CRS Report for Congress: Military Space Programs: Issues Concerning DoD’s Space-Based Infra-Red System (SBIRS)
Department of Defense (DoD) report, highlights the SBIRS system, designed to replace existing "early warning" satellites. - CRS Report for Congress: Space Activities of the United States, CIS, and Other Launching Countries/Organizations: 1957-1993
Historical overview of the space exploration progress made between the 1950s and the 1990s. - CRS Issue Brief for Congress: Space Launch Vehicles: Government Activities, Commercial Competition, and Satellite Exports
Covers the U.S. launch vehicle policy, programs and issues, and information about the commercial launch services industry. - CRS Issue Brief for Congress: Space Stations
Covers the early space stations from 1984, international partners in space station creation, and other issues for Congressional consideration. - CRS Issue Brief for Congress: U.S. Space Programs: Civilian, Military, and Commercial
Reports on current civilian, commercial, and military U.S. space programs, government space budgets and other space program issues. - Congressional Research Service Reports on Space Policy
Links to CRS reports dealing with issues of space policy. Web site maintained by Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
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