1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 2000 and on

1950s

• National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, unamended

• National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended

• National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended with legislative history showing changes over time. Thanks to Laura Burns from the Office of General Counsel for providing this "codified" version on August 25, 2008.

• Recommendations to NASA Regarding a National Civil Space Program, October 1958

• Long Range Plan of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, December 1959

1960s

• Report of the Ad Hoc Panel on Man-in-Space, December 16, 1960

• Report to the President-Elect of the Ad Hoc Committee on Space ("Wiesner Report"), January 10, 1961

• President John F. Kennedy's Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs, May 25, 1961. In this famous speech, Kennedy proposed putting a human on the Moon by the end of the decade.

• President John F. Kennedy's Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, September 12, 1962. In this well-known speech, Kennedy stated that we explore space not because it is easy but because it is difficult. Click here to view a video of the speech.

• President John F. Kennedy's Address Before the United Nations, September 20, 1963. Several months before he died, Kennedy proposed a joint lunar mission with the Soviet Union.

• NASA Future Program Task Group, January 1965. Part 1 (3 MB pdf file) or Part 2 (4 MB pdf file)

• The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 - The United Nations "Treaty on principles governing the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies."

• The Post-Apollo Space Program: Directions for the Future, September 1969

1970s

• President Nixon's Announcement on the Development of the Space Shuttle, January 5, 1972

• NASA Investigation Board Report of the Initial Flight Anomalies of Skylab 1, July 13, 1973.

• Carter Space Program Transition Team Report, January 1977: Part 1 (2MB pdf file) or Part 2 (3MB pdf file)

• Presidential Directive/NSC-37, "National Space Policy", May 11, 1978

1980s

• Report of the Presidential Transition Team, NASA, December 19, 1980

• NSDD-42, "National Space Policy", July 4, 1982

• NSDD 5-83, "Space Station", April 11, 1983

• President Reagan's Remarks on the Space Station, January 25, 1984

• Pioneering the Space Frontier: The Report of the National Commission on Space (commonly called the NCOS or Paine Report), May 1986. Please note that this is a full-text html version; no graphics are included due to copyright issues.

• Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (commonly called the Rogers Commission Report), June 1986 and Implementations of the Recommendations, June 1987

• Leadership and America's Future in Space: A Report to the Administrator by Dr. Sally K. Ride (commonly called the Ride Report), August 1987.

• "Presidential Directive on National Space Policy", February 11, 1988

• President Bush's Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
  (his Space Exploration Initiative speech), July 20, 1989. Resources About the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI).

1990s

• National Space Policy Directives NSPD-1, NSPD-2, NSPD-3, NSPD-4, NSPD-5, NSPD-6, and NSPD-7

• The Augustine Commission Report, December 1990

• America at the Threshold: America's Space Exploration Initiative, commonly known as the Stafford Report or Synthesis Group, May 1991.

• Exploring the Moon and Mars: Choices for the Nation, OTA Report for Congress, July 1991: Click here for 3MB pdf file.

• The Future of the U.S. Space Industrial Base, November 1992 (A Task Group Report): Part 1 (4MB pdf file) or Part 2 (3MB pdf file)

• A Post Cold War Assessment of U.S. Space Policy, December 1992 (Task Group Report): Part 1 (2MB pdf file) or Part 2 (3MB pdf file)

• Final report to the President on the U.S. Space Program, January 1993: Part 1 (3MB pdf file) or Part 2 (3MB pdf file)

• National Space Technology Council Presidential Decision Directives NSTC-1, NSTC-2, NSTC-3, NSTC-4, and NSTC-8

• National Space Policy, September 19, 1996

• Space Act Study Agreement on General Public Space Travel and Tourism, February 1997

• Cost and Validation Task Force Assessment (Chabrow Report), April 1998:

• Analysis of Potential Alternatives to Reduce NASA's Cost of Human Access to Space (Hawthorne Report), September 1998

• Commercial Development Plan for the International Space Station, November 1998

2000 and on

• Space Shuttle Independent Assessment Team Report to the Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight (McDonald Report), March 2000 (includes link to 8MB pdf file)

• Enhancing Mission Success -- A Framework for the Future, A Report by the NASA Chief Engineer and the NASA Integrated Action Team, January 2001 (2MB pdf file)

• The Independent Management and Cost Evaluation (IMCE) Task Force for the International Space Station (the "Young Report"), November 2001 (0.5MB pdf file)

• Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry Final Report, November 2002 (20.4MB pdf file)

• The Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report, 2003

• President George W. Bush's Vision for Space Exploration, January 2004

• Revised Return to Flight Implementation Plan, January 30, 2004

• A Renewed Commitment to Excellence: An Assessment of the NASA Agency-wide Applicability of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report, January 30, 2004 (the Diaz Report) Executive Summary or
  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 of the full report.

• A Journey to Inspire, Innovate, and Discover June 2004 (the Aldridge Commission Report)

• The Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, headed by Norman Augustine September 2009 Summary Report and October 2009 Full Report

• U.S. National Space Policy 2006

• Office of Science and Technology Policy - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Fact Sheet - A Bold New Approach for Space Exploration and Discovery, February 1, 2010

• NASA/OSTP Statement - Launching a New Era in Space Exploration, February 1, 2010

• President Obama's speech before a space conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, announcing that astronauts will soar spaceward in commercial spacecraft while NASA develops technology so humans can venture to Mars and out into the solar system. April 15, 2010
Watch the video of the speech here or read a fact sheet about this speech.

• National Space Policy of the United States of America, June 28, 2010

• National Space Transportation Policy, November 21, 2013

• Presidential Memorandum on Reinvigorating America's Human Space Exploration Program
  (Space Policy Directive-1) (Amendment to the June 28, 2010 National Space Policy), December 11, 2017


• Presidential Space Policy Directive-2, on Commercial Space, May 24, 2018
• Presidential Space Policy Directive-3, on Space Traffic Management, June 18, 2018
• Presidential Space Directive-4, on the establishment of the U.S. Space Force, February 19, 2019
• Presidential Space Directive-5, on Cybersecurity for Space Systems, September 4, 2020
• National Space Policy, December 9, 2020
• Presidential Space Directive-6, on Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion, December 16, 2020

Other Interesting Non-NASA Sites with Space Policy Documents:

• National Space Studies Center History Policy Documents

• U.S. Department of Defense & Office of the Director of National Intelligence This site has posted some interesting military space documents.

Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator
Site design by NASA HQ Printing & Design
For further information email hq-histinfo@nasa.gov