Revised: Dec. 2007

Getting started in a new job can be bewildering, and a new job at NASA is no exception. NASA and its predecessor, NACA, have been at the forefront of flight since the Wilson Administration, and what NASA does can seem mysterious and inaccessible. The purpose of this resource list is to give the newcomer to NASA HQ answers to such questions as:

How old is NASA? What was NACA?

 

What's the difference between a rocket and a ramjet?

 

What do the centers do? Is JPL a center, or is it a part of Caltech?

Other bibliographies maintained by the library, such as its lists of hardcopy and online aerospace dictionaries and launch schedules and mission chronologies, will also help you find valuable information about NASA's history and purpose.

All items are available at the Headquarters Library, except as noted. NASA Headquarters employees and contractors: call (358-0172) or email Library@hq.nasa.gov for information on borrowing or in-library use of any of these items. Members of the public, contact your Local Library for the availability of these items. NASA Headquarters employees can request additional materials or research on this topic. The Library welcomes your comments or suggestions about this webpage.

Books

Bilstein, Roger E. Flight in America: From the Wrights to the Astronauts. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

TL521.312 .B55 2001 BOOKSTACKS

 

__________. Testing Aircraft, Exploring Space: An Illustrated History of NACA and NASA. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

TL521.312 .B58 2003 BOOKSTACKS

 

Burrows, William E. This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age. New York, NY: Random House, 1998.

TL788.5 .B87 1998 BOOKSTACKS

 

Burrows, William E., and Mary Kalamaras. The Infinite Journey: Eyewitness Accounts of NASA and the Age of Space. New York, NY: Discovery Books, 2000.

TL789.8 .U5 B87 2000 BOOKSTACKS

 

Campbell, Bruce A., and Samuel Walter McCandless, Jr. Introduction to Space Sciences and Spacecraft Applications. Houston, TX: Gulf Pub., 1996.

TL791 .C187 1996 BOOKSTACKS

 

Damon, Thomas. Introduction to Space: The Science of Spaceflight. Malabar, FL: Krieger, 2001.

TL791 .D36 2001 BOOKSTACKS

 

Dick, Steven J. (ed.). America in Space: NASA's First Fifty Years. New York, NY: Abrams, 2007

TL789.8 .U5 A44 2007 BOOKSTACKS

 

Jones, Thomas D., and Michael Benson. The Complete Idiot's Guide to NASA. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books, 2002

TL521.312 .J67 2002 BOOKSTACKS

 

Launius, Roger D. NASA: A History of the U.S. Civil Space Program. Malabar, FL: Krieger Pub. Co., 1994.

TL521.312 .L28 1994 BOOKSTACKS

 

Launius, Roger D., and Bertram Ulrich. NASA and the Exploration of Space: With Works from the NASA Art Collection. New York, NY: Stewart, Tabori, and Chang, 1998.

TL789.8 .U5 L38 1998 BOOKSTACKS

 

Lee, Wayne. To Rise From Earth: An Easy-to-understand Guide to Space Flight. New York, NY: Checkmark books, 2000.

TL793 .L32 2000 BOOKSTACKS

 

Ley, Willy. Rockets, Missiles, and Men in Space. New York, NY: Viking Press, 1968.

TL782 .L68 1968 BOOKSTACKS

Note: Ley was one of the greatest exponents of space travel until his death in 1969. This book is the last edition of a guide to rockets and space travel for ordinary people which Ley originally wrote during the Second World War and kept updating until his death.

 

Smith, H.C. The Illustrated Guide to Aerodynamics. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1992.

TL570 .S56 1992 BOOKSTACKS

 

Talay, Theodore A. Introduction to the Aerodynamics of Flight. Washington, DC: Scientific and Technical Information Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1975.

TL570 .T3 1975 BOOKSTACKS

Note: This book is freely available to everybody as a PDF file through the NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS) as document no. 19760003955. It is also a website.

Internet Resources

Benson, Tom. The Beginner's Guide to Rockets. 9 Dec. 2005 [27 Dec. 2007].

http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/bgmr.html

 

Calhoun, JoAnne. NASA Technical Report Server. 5 July 2007 [27 Dec. 2007].

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp

Note: The NASA Technical Report Server, NTRS, allows the general public and NASA personnel to search for NASA's unclassified and publicly available publications. Many of them are downloadable as PDF files, but other materials, such as videos, must be ordered from NASA's Center for AeroSpace Information.

 

Dick, Steven J. NASA History Office. 11 Dec. 2007 [27 Dec. 2007].

http://history.nasa.gov/

 

__________. NASA History Series Publications. 16 Oct. 2007 [27 Dec. 2007].

http://history.nasa.gov/series95.html

Note: Many of these titles are available at this website as free PDF files.

 

Dunbar, Brian. NASA Organizational Structure. 21 Dec. 2007 [27 Dec. 2007].

http://www.nasa.gov/about/org_index.html

 

Garber, Steve. Great Images in NASA. 31 Oct. 2002 [27 Dec. 2007].

http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/index.html

 

Spencer, Richard. NASA HQ Information Center. Nov. 2007 [27 Dec. 2007].

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/hqlibrary/ic/nasaic.htm