Congress established committees on space exploration in 1958, in response to the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik in October 1957. The House Committee was created as the Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration (1958). In 1959, the Committee on Science and Astronautics became a permanent standing committee within the House of Representatives. The Senate, encouraged by Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, established a Special Committee on Space and Astronautics in February 1958. By 1959, the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences was a permanent, as well as prestigious, Senate committee. Both Senate and House committees held hearings on the creation of the new civilian space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its budgets. In addition, they held investigative hearings about the United States' launch failures and the Soviet Union's space program. By the late 1960s both committees were relegated to subcommittees status as part of groups which dealt with all aspects of science and technology.
NASM.XXXX.0205
Arranged and described by Denise Peeler, 1990. Revised and encoded by Elizabeth C. Borja, 2022.
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences
1958-1964
Gift, NASM.XXXX.0205.
1.38 Cubic feet (4 document boxes)
Congress established committees on space exploration in 1958, in response to the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik in October 1957. Both Senate and House committees held hearings on the creation of the new civilian space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its budgets. In addition, they held investigative hearings about the United States' launch failures and the Soviet Union's space program. By the late 1960s both committees were relegated to subcommittees status as part of groups which dealt with all aspects of science and technology. This collection consists of published transcripts of hearings before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics and the United States Senate Committee on Aeronautics and Space Science.
No restrictions on access
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Transcripts
Publications
The collection is divided into two series: 1) House of Representatives Hearings and Reports and 2) Senate Hearings and Reports. Within each series, materials are mostly arranged chronologically.
This collection consists of published transcripts of hearings before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics and the United States Senate Committee on Aeronautics and Space Science. The hearings deal with a wide variety of topics including appropriations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, American and Soviet space programs, as well as other space-science-related topics.
Transcripts
Publications
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United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science and Astronautics
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Air and Space Museum Archives