Final meeting of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, August 21, 1958

Final meeting of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, August 21, 1958. After the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik I satellite in October 1957, the United States realized that it needed a space program to keep up with the technological advancements made by the Soviets. On July 29, 1958, President DwightEisenhower signed Public Law 85-568 and established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). T. Keith Glennan was sworn in as the first Administrator of NASA on August 19, 1958, and by October 1, the official effective date of the new agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was absorbed by NASA. Left to right: T. Keith Glennan, NASA Administrator; Mr. Preston R. Bassett, member of the NACA Committee on Aerodynamics; Mr. Charles J. McCarthy, Chairman of the Board, Chance Vought Aircraft, Inc.