Our new Researching NASA History web page is now available. It briefly describes the holdings of our History Division's NASA Historical Reference Collection located at NASA Headquarters and how to visit us in person to conduct research. For a more detailed look, see our collection guide entitled Research in NASA History: A Guide to the NASA History Program. It describes the archival holdings at HQ and at each of the ten Field Centers around the country and provides other useful information.

Apollo 40th Anniversary web site celebrates the many accomplishments of the Apollo Program.

On October 28-29, 2008, the NASA History Division hosted a conference in Washington, D.C. called NASA's First 50 Years, a Historical Perspective. The purpose of this conference was a scholarly analysis of NASA's first 50 years.  Over two days at NASA Headquarters, historians discussed NASA's role in aeronautics,  human spaceflight, space science, life science and Earth science, as well as cross-cutting themes ranging from space access to international relations in space and NASA and the public.  The agenda, bios of participants, abstracts of papers, and logistics for the conference are available at this link.

On June 25-June 29 and July 2-6, 2008, NASA participated in the 42nd Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall. Steven J. Dick, Stephen J. Garber, and James I. Deutsch contributed the article, "Fifty Years and Beyond" to the program book.

The new NASA HQ Historical Reference Collection on-line public database is here! Four series from the NASA Headquarters Historical Reference Collection have been digitized and made available in this new on-line database for use by researchers. Included are PDFs of Press Kits, Press Releases, Mission Transcripts, and Administrators' Speeches. Researchers may use either the Basic Search or Advanced Search to access these. The HQ History Division staff has digitized all press kits, press releases, mission transcripts, and Administrators' speeches that were available to them in the Historical Reference Collection. Links are provided to other sources where similar and/or additional information can be found.

NASA's Fiftieth Anniversary in 2008 web site celebrates NASA's first fifty years and contains images from the America in Space anniversary book.

Altitude Wind Tunnel at NASA Glenn Research Center (SP-2008-4608). Bob Arrighi at NASA Glenn has put together a wealth of documents, still and moving images, and other information about this historic wind tunnel. Members of the public may request a copy by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the NASA History Division, Room CO72, NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, DC 20546.

Ikhana: Unmanned Aircraft System Western States Fire Missions. Monograph in Aerospace History, No. 44, 2009. (NASA SP-2009-4544) by Peter W. Merlin.
Click here to order.

NASA Historical Data Book Volume VII: NASA Launch Systems, Space Transportation, Human Spaceflight, and Space Science 1989-1998. (NASA SP-2009-4012) by Judy A. Rumerman. Compiled by Judy A. Rumerman, this work is a continuation of the six previous volumes in the data book set that have covered the three previous decades of NASA’s existence. A fundamental reference tool, this new work presents information, much of it statistical, documenting the development of critical areas of NASA responsibility for the period between 1989 and 1998.
CASI Price: $55
GPO Price: $59.

Nose Up: High Angle-of-Attack and Thrust Vectoring Research at NASA Dryden 1979-2001. Monograph in Aerospace History, No. 34, 2009. (NASA SP-2009-4534) by Lane Wallace and Christian Gelzer.
Click here to order.

Rockets and People: Hot Days of the Cold War, Volume III. (NASA SP-2009-4110) by Boris Chertok.
In Volume 3, Chertok recollects the great successes of, and continues the fascinating narrative of the Soviet space program in the 1960s, arguably the peak of the effort.
Price: $25.00.

Research in NASA History. A Guide to the NASA History Program. Third Edition. Monograph in Aerospace History, No. 43, 2009. (NASA SP-2009-4543) compiled by Steven J. Dick, Stephen J. Garber, and Jane H. Odom. The NASA History Division is pleased to announce the availability of Research in NASA History (NASA SP-2009-4543, Monograph in Aerospace History 43).
This updated version explains what kinds of resources are available from the NASA History Division at Headquarters, the Field Centers, the National Archives, and other relevant organizations for researchers in aerospace history.
If you’d like a hard copy of this monograph, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the NASA History Division, Suite CO72, NASA HQ, Washington, DC 20546 for this 86-page, 8 ½ x 11” monograph or Click here to order.. This is an update of the 1997 edition, HHR-64.

Astronautics and Aeronautics: A Chronology, 1996-2000. (NASA SP-2009-4030) by Marieke Lewis and Ryan Swanson. This is the latest in our series of chronologies of events in aeronautics, aviation, space science, and space exploration. Available online only.

Remembering the Space Age: Proceedings of the 50th Anniversary Conference. (NASA SP-2008-4703) by Steven J. Dick, ed.
There is no doubt that the last 50 years have brought numerous accomplishments in the “new ocean” of space, harkening back to a long tradition of exploration. After 50 years of robotic and human spaceflight, and as serious plans are being implemented to return humans to the Moon and continue on to Mars, it is a good time to step back and ask questions that those in the heat of battle have had little time to consider. This conference proceedings book is an edited collection of 21 essays stemming from an October 2007 conference sponsored by the NASA History Division and the National Air and Space Museum to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sputnik 1 and the dawn of the Space Age.
Price: $55,
Click below to view this book in a three part PDF:
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.

Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program, Volume VII: Human Spaceflight: Project Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. (NASA SP-2008-4407)edited by John M. Logsdon, with Roger D. Launius.
This is the seventh volume in an ongoing series of reference books that are useful for those interested in both space history and space policy.
Price: $35
Click below to view this book in a five part PDF:
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.
Part 4.
Part 5.

William H. Pickering: America's Deep Space Pioneer. (NASA SP-2008-4113) by Douglas J. Mudgway. This thoroughly researched, insightful biography by a fellow New Zealander who came to the U.S. and worked with William Pickering, who became Director of JPL, is a timely addition to the literature and an engaging portrait of one of the pioneers of early U.S. robotic spaceflight. The book is out in time to commemorate the Explorer 1 launch on January 31, 1958.
Please note that this is the revised version of the earlier edition.
How to order the 2008 revised edition. There are several ways to purchase this book:
CASI, NASA Information Center, and GPO Price: $25.
Private, commercial vendors such as Amazon.com Price: $39.
Click below to view this book in a three part PDF:
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.

THE REVIEW OF THE U.S. HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT PLANS COMMITTEE, headed by Norman Augustine
September 2009 Summary Report and October 2009 Full Report

APOLLO 10 FLIGHT JOURNAL
In time for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 10 mission, the NASA History Division is pleased to announce a major new Web resource: The Apollo 10 Flight Journal. David Woods, with the assistance of Ian Roberts and Robin Wheeler, has developed this new Web site that richly documents the journey literally from the Earth to the Moon and back for this mission. It contains an extensively annotated mission transcript, supporting technical documents, photos, and more. It is a companion to the Flight Journals for the Apollo 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, and 16 missions and to Eric Jones’ Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.

DECADAL PLANNING TEAM
We now have available online a significant collection of primary source documents from NASA’s Decadal Planning Team (DPT). The DPT began in 1999 as an effort to chart a new direction for NASA, prior to the announcement of the Vision for Space Exploration in January 2004. People interested in NASA long-range planning and policy may find this set of materials particularly interesting and timely. Thanks to DPT participant Harley Thronson for providing these documents and a background essay.

BRAND NEW!!! CLICK HERE TO VIEW NEWLY ADDED FULL TEXT SEARCHABLE
PDFS OF THE Astronautics and Aeronautics CHRONOLOGIES, FROM 1963-1995. WARNING! These PDFs range in file size from approximately 12 to 45 MB.

THE PDFS FOR THE THIRTEEN (13) TITLES LISTED BELOW ARE ALSO LARGE:

Women in Flight Research at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center from 1946 to 1995. Monograph in Aerospace History, No. 6, 1997 by Sheryll Goecke Powers.

Memoirs of an Aeronautical Engineer: Flight Tests at Ames Research Center: 1940-1970. Monograph in Aerospace History, No. 26, 2002, NASA SP-2002-4526 Seth B. Anderson.

NASA Historical Data Book, Vol. I: NASA Resources, 1958-1968. NASA SP-4012, 1976, rep. ed. 1988 by Jane Van Nimmen, and Leonard C. Bruno, with Robert L. Rosholt.

NASA Historical Data Book, Vol II: Programs and Projects, 1958-1968. NASA SP-4012, 1988 by Linda Neuman Ezell.

An Administrative History of NASA, 1958-1963. NASA SP-4101, 1966 by Robert L. Rosholt.

From Runway to Orbit: Reflections of a NASA Engineer. NASA SP-2004-4109 by Kenneth W. Illiff and Curtis L. Peebles.

Shared Voyage: Learning and Unlearning from Remarkable Projects (NASA SP-2005-4111) by Alexander Laufer, Todd Post, and Edward Hoffman.

Venture into Space: Early Years of Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA SP-4301, 1985 by Alfred Rosenthal.

On the Frontier: Flight Research at Dryden, 1946-1981. NASA SP-4303, 1984 by Richard P. Hallion.

Flights of Discovery: An Illustrated History of the Dryden Flight Research Center. NASA SP-4309, 1996, by Lane E. Wallace.
Click below to view this book in a three part PDF:
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.

Crafting Flight: Aircraft Pioneers and the Contributions of the Men and Women of NASA Langley Research Center. NASA SP-2003-4316, 2003 by James Schultz.

Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974. NASA SP-2000-4408, 2000 by Asif A. Siddiqi.
Click below to view this book in a two part PDF:
Part 1.
Part 2.

A Spacefaring People: Perspectives on Early Spaceflight. NASA SP-4405, 1985 by Alex Roland.

Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator
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For further information email mailto:histinfo@hq.nasa.gov