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The National Aeronautics And Space Administration Essay

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NASA has taken many giant leaps in spaceflight since Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon: The International Space Station was built, multiple rovers were sent to Mars, a spacecraft has landed on an asteroid, and we even have pictures of Pluto for the first time. NASA has accomplished some incredible projects that have inspired many and benefited the entire world with the research it has found. Unfortunately, it has recently encountered some setbacks that make it nearly impossible for the administration to continue in these ambitions. Due to cost, interests, and efficiency, it is time for the private sector to take control of the future of spaceflight.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was established on October 1, 1958 as a way “to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth’s atmosphere…” (Garber). It originally served the purpose of national defense during the Cold War but soon became engaged in a space race with the Soviet Union. While the Soviet Union was the first nation to send man to space, the United States eventually won the ultimate race when the lunar module landed on the moon on June 20, 1969 (Garber). NASA continued to send man into space using the space shuttle designed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The International Space Station (ISS) was developed to conduct long term research and determine the effects of near weightlessness on the human body (Garber). Their plans include long term or even permanent

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