"An Act to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earths atmosphere, and for other purposes." With this simple preamble, the Congress and the President of the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on October 1, 1958. Formed in response to the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union, NASA inherited the research-oriented National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and several other government organizations, and almost immediately began working on options for manned space flight. NASAs first high profile program was Project Mercury, an early effort to learn if humans could survive in space. Project Gemini followed with a more complex series of experiments to increase mans time in space and validate advanced concepts such as rendezvous. The efforts continued with Project Apollo, culminating in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the Moon. The return from orbit on July 24, 1975, of the crew from the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project began a six-year hiatus of American manned space flight. The launch of the first Space Shuttle in April 1981 brought Americans back into space, continuing today with the assembly and initial operations of the International Space Station.

In addition to the human space flight program, NASA also maintains an active (if small) aeronautics research program, a space science program (including deep space and interplanetary explora-tion), and an Earth observation program. The agency also conducts basic research activities in a variety of fields.

NASA, like many federal agencies, is a heavily matrixed organization, meaning that the lines of authority are not necessarily straight-forward. At the simplest level, there are three major types of entities involved in the Human Space Flight Program: NASA field centers, NASA programs carried out at those centers, and industrial and academic contractors. The centers provide the buildings, facilities, and support services for the various programs. The programs, along with field centers and Headquarters, hire civil servants and contrac-tors from the private sector to support aspects of their enterprises.

THE LOCATIONS

NASA Headquarters, located in Washington D.C., is responsible for leadership and management across five strategic enterprises: Aero-space Technology, Biological and Physical Research, Earth Science, Space Science, and Human Exploration and Development of Space. NASA Headquarters also provides strategic management for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs.

The Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, was established in 1961 as the Manned Spacecraft Center and has led the development of every U.S. manned space flight program. Currently, Johnson is home to both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Pro-gram Offices. The facilities at Johnson include the training, simula-tion, and mission control centers for the Space Shuttle and Space Station. Johnson also has flight operations at Ellington Field, where the training aircraft for the astronauts and support aircraft for the Space Shuttle Program are stationed, and manages the White Sands Test Facility, New Mexico, where hazardous testing is conducted.

The Kennedy Space Center was created to launch the Apollo missions to the Moon, and currently provides launch and landing facilities for the Space Shuttle. The Center is located on Merritt Island, Florida, adjacent to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station that also provides support for the Space Shuttle Program (and was the site of the earlier Mercury and Gemini launches). Personnel at Kennedy support maintenance and overhaul services for the Orbiters, assemble and check-out the integrated vehicle prior to launch, and operate the Space Station Processing Facility where components of the orbiting laboratory are packaged for launch aboard the Space Shuttle. The majority of contractor personnel assigned to Kennedy are part of the Space Flight Operations Contract administered by the Space Shuttle Program Office at Johnson.

The Marshall Space Flight Center, near Hunstville, Alabama, is home to most NASA rocket propulsion efforts. The Space Shuttle Projects Office located at Marshall--organizationally part of the Space Shuttle Program Office at Johnson--manages the manufacturing and support contracts to Boeing Rocketdyne for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), to Lockheed Martin for the External Tank (ET), and to ATK Thiokol Propulsion for the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM, the major piece of the Solid Rocket Booster). Marshall is also involved in microgravity research and space product development programs that fly as payloads on the Space Shuttle.

The Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, is the largest rocket propulsion test complex in the United States. Stennis provides all of the testing facilities for the Space Shuttle Main Engines and External Tank. (The Solid Rocket Boosters are tested at the ATK Thiokol Propulsion facilities in Utah.)

The Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, has evolved from its aeronautical research roots to become a Center of Excellence for information technology. The Centers primary importance to the Space Shuttle Program, however, lies in wind tunnel and arc-jet testing, and the development of thermal protection system concepts.

The Langley Research Center, at Hampton, Virginia, is the agencys primary center for structures and materials and supports the Space Shuttle Program in these areas, as well as in basic aerodynamic and thermodynamic research.

THE PROGRAMS

The two major human space flight efforts within NASA are the Space Shuttle Program and International Space Station Program, both headquartered at Johnson although they report to a Deputy Associate Administrator at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Space Shuttle Program Office at Johnson is responsible for all aspects of developing, supporting, and flying the Space Shuttle. To accomplish these tasks, the program maintains large workforces at the various NASA Centers that host the facilities used by the program. The Space Shuttle Program Office is also responsible for managing the Space Flight Operations Contract with United Space Alliance that provides most of the contractor support at Johnson and Kennedy, as well as a small amount at Marshall.

THE CONTRACTORS

The Space Shuttle Program employs a wide variety of commercial companies to provide services and products. Among these are some of the largest aerospace and defense contractors in the country, in-cluding (but not limited to):

United Space Alliance
This is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin that was established in 1996 to perform the Space Flight Operations Contract that essentially conducts the day-to-day operation of the Space Shuttle. United Space Alliance is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and employs more than 10,000 people at Johnson, Kennedy, and Marshall. Its contract currently runs through 2005.

The Boeing Company, NASA Systems
The Space Shuttle Orbiter was designed and manufactured by Rockwell International, located primarily in Downey and Palmdale, California. In 1996, The Boeing Company purchased the aerospace assets of Rockwell International, and later moved the Downey op-eration to Huntington Beach, California, as part of a consolidation of facilities. Boeing is subcontracted to United Space Alliance to provide support to Orbiter modifications and operations, with work performed in California, and at Johnson and Kennedy.

The Boeing Company, Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power
The Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International was responsi-ble for the development and manufacture of the Space Shuttle Main Engines, and continues to support the engines as a part of The Boe-ing Company. The Space Shuttle Projects Office at Marshall man-ages the main engines contract, with most of the work performed in California, Stennis, and Kennedy.

ATK Thiokol Propulsion
ATK Thiokol Propulsion (formerly Morton-Thiokol) in Brigham City, Utah, manufactures the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor seg-ments that are the propellant sections of the Solid Rocket Boosters. The Space Shuttle Projects Office at Marshall manages the Reus-able Solid Rocket Motor contract.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Michoud Operations
The External Tank was developed and manufactured by Martin Marietta at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana. Martin Marietta later merged with Lockheed to create Lockheed Martin. The External Tank is the only disposable part of the Space Shuttle system, so new ones are always under construction. The Space Shuttle Projects Office at Marshall man-ages the External Tank contract.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
The Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels used on the nose and wing leading edges of the Orbiter were manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought in Grand Prairie, Texas. Lockheed Martin acquired LTV through a series of mergers and acquisitions. The Space Shuttle Program office at Johnson manages the RCC support contract.