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.

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.