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. The Office of General Counsel is currently updating this "codified" version.

• 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 Unviersity 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.

• 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), October 4, 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)

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