Important People
This page will show you who developed and founded NASA and some well-known people who kept NASA alive during the space race and years after.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the establishment of NASA on July 29, 1958. In order to approve establishment, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. Dwight was also the 34th U.S. president and a five star general in the United States Army during World War 2.
Wernher Von Braun
Wernher Von Braun was a German engineer who worked on rocket technology, first for Germany than for the United States (NASA). In his early years, he was one of the most important German weapon specialists to work on rocketry and jet propulsion in the United States after World War 2. He later disapproved of military use of the rocket and surrendered willingly to American troops. He then became the director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Marshall Space Flight Center, from 1960-1970.
Christa McAuliffe
High school teacher Christa McAuliffe was the first American civilian to go into space. She was one of the victims during the Challenger explosion in 1986. Her dream was to ride in a space shuttle, so when the National Space Administration set up a contest to take a teacher into space, she jumped at the chance and applied, beating out more than 11,000 people to it. After the accident she earned the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.