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The 1950's
 NASA

NASA
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 9
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.36

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    wake-up, eisenhower, Wernher, launched, civilian, satellite, destruction, atmosphere, security, military, billion, budget, rockets, widely, man-made, threat
     content words:    United States, Soviet Union, President Dwight D., National Aeronautics, Space Act, Space Administration, World War II, Adolph Hitler, Von Braun, Air Force

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NASA
By Jane Runyon 		  
1     The events of October 4, 1957, were a wake-up call for the people of the United States. On that day, the Soviet Union launched a man-made satellite into space. Until that day, the moon was the only thing circling the Earth. It surprised United States' scientists that the Soviet Union had the technology needed for such a feat. American scientists were not nearly ready to accomplish the same mission.
 
2     Leaders in Washington, D.C., were worried about more than who was the first to develop the technology needed to visit space. They felt that the Soviet satellite in space offered a direct threat to the safety of the world. They believed that information gathered from cameras contained in a satellite could be a threat to the security of any country in the world. Both scientists and government leaders agreed that something needed to be done quickly to put the United States on an equal playing field with the Soviet Union.
 
3     After a lot of debate, a plan was set into motion. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into effect on July 29, 1958. This act established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This group was originally made up of 80 workers in four different laboratories. It was their job to conduct research into space exploration. The group would not be connected to the military. It would develop the technology needed to bring the United States into the "Space Race."

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