NASA: 50 Years of Exploration and Discovery

Tampa, FL: Faircount LLC, 2008. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. Very good. Quarto, 368, wraps, profusely illustrated in color, fold-out NASA timeline at center of the volume, slight wear and soiling to covers. This magazine was published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA. Among the many articles are "50 Years of NASA History" by Steven J. Dick, NASA Chief Historian; "Sputnik and the Creation of NASA: A Personal Perspective" by Eilene Galloway; "Ten Presidents and NASA" by John M. Logsdon; and "NASA Engineers & Scientists: Transforming Dreams Into Reality" by A.J.S. Rayl. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. NASA has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968-1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. NASA currently supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, the Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. NASA's science is focused on: better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System; advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program; exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons and planetary rovers such as Perseverance; and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Great Observatories and associated programs. NASA's Launch Services Program provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for its uncrewed launches.