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The Congress

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The Birth of NASA

Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books ((SPACEE))

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Abstract

Members of both houses of Congress were ready to act, but they needed some direction from the President. On November 21, 1957, less than two months after the launch of Sputnik, Eisenhower established the President’s Scientific Advisory Committee (PSAC). It was chaired by Dr. James R. Killian, Jr. of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It included 18 distinguished scientists, engineers, and policy makers including the current NACA Chairman, Gen. Doolittle. Dr. Killian had two subcommittees, one on policy headed by Dr. Edward H. Purcell who was a Bell Telephone Executive Vice President, and the other an organization headed by Dr. James B. Fisk of Harvard University. Both subcommittee chairmen were physicists, and they knew what the President wanted.

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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von Ehrenfried, M.“. (2016). The Congress. In: The Birth of NASA. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28428-6_5

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