Where is NASA?

1 958101October1day, the United States officially reorganized the National Aviation Advisory Committee (NACA) into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The former National Aviation Advisory Committee was established in 19 15. The reason why it was reorganized into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is to expand the responsibilities of this institution in aerospace and accelerate the realization of the plan of the United States to catch up with the satellites of the former Soviet Union. According to President Eisenhower 1958' s speech to Congress on April 2, the purpose of establishing NASA is: ① to expand human knowledge of the atmosphere and space. ② Improve the use, performance, safety and efficiency of aircraft. (3) Developing aircraft capable of carrying weapons, equipment and creatures into space. (4) Maintain the leading position of the United States in aviation and aerospace technology. ⑤ Provide research results with military value or significance to government departments. ⑥ Cooperate with other countries to engage in the peaceful use of space research results. ⑦ Make the most effective use of American engineering power and avoid repeated construction of equipment.

Directly under the president's administration, it is the main space research institution in the American government system, providing valuable scientific research results to relevant units in research and exploration, and being responsible for space technology consultation. The bureau mainly focuses on civil aerospace research and also serves military aerospace; Since 1958, space research has dominated, and aviation research has accounted for a small proportion.

Because of NASA's mission in military, civil aviation and aerospace fields, NASA has extensive cooperation, and it has close ties with the planning analysis and evaluation department of the Ministry of National Defense and the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Cooperation plans with the army, navy and air force; There are various contractual relationships with other government departments, such as the Ministry of Energy, the Meteorological Bureau and the industrial sector. The research results of NASA are directly transferred to the Ministry of National Defense, aviation manufacturing companies, the Federal Aviation Administration and other relevant institutions. NASA provides technical basis for aviation manufacturing companies to design new aircraft and FAA airworthiness certification.

At present, NASA's annual budget is $654.38+06 billion, and its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. ... NASA's vision is to "improve life here, prolong life there and find other lives farther away". The goal of NASA is to "understand and protect the planet we live in; Explore the universe and find life outside the earth; Enlighten our next generation to explore the universe. " In addition to the space program, NASA also conducts long-term civil and military aerospace research. NASA is widely regarded as the leader of space agencies in the world.

organization structure

Administratively, NASA is directly under the leadership of the president, with the director taking overall responsibility. NASA implements two levels of management, namely, the management of bureau headquarters and the management of strategic affairs department. The headquarters of the Bureau has the leadership responsibility for the overall situation, coordinates the work inside and outside the Bureau, conducts external cost accounting and liaison with NASA, formulates the long-term plan and annual plan of the Director, implements budget integration, and formulates the development strategy, long-term investment strategy and policies and standards of NASA. Supervise the technical management of the research center; Check the progress and completion of each stage; Ensure the implementation of the plan approved by the state. In order to realize the mission of NASA and better serve its customers, NASA has set up six strategic affairs departments, which are responsible for the main business areas of NASA. They are: Space Flight Department (Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Stannis Space Center); Ministry of Space Technology (including Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, Langley Research Center and Golan Research Center); Ministry of Earth Sciences (affiliated to Goddard Space Center); Department of Space Science (under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory); Department of Biological and Physical Research and Department of Security and Mission Support. Each strategic department has its own set of strategic goals, objectives and implementation measures to meet the needs of major customers.

Stone. The strategic affairs department is responsible for determining customer needs and ensuring all customers' satisfaction. Each department and the deputy director in charge of business jointly determine the direction of work, and are responsible for formulating the long-term investment strategy, budget, project resource allocation and performance appraisal, policies and standards of each department, and implementing NASA policies.

The headquarters of NASA has 10 research centers: Goddard Space Center, Leiden B. Johnson Space Center, John F. Kennedy Space Center, George C. Marshall Space Center, John C. Stennis Space Center, Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, Langley Research Center, Glenn Research Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, among which the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is contracted by NASA.

There are mainly five aviation scientific research units under the jurisdiction of NASA headquarters, which are introduced as follows.

(1) Ames Research Center, (2) Golan Research Center, John H. Glenn Research Center in Lewis Field, (3) Langley Research Center, Langley Research Center (LaRC), (4) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), (5) Dryden Flight Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center personnel and funds.

1In 1994, the number of employees of NASA was 2473 1, and in 1999, it was reduced to 2 1000. The annual expenditure of 1994 is14.55 billion USD, and that of 1995 is14.3 billion USD. The fund of 200 1 is142.5 billion USD. In 2002, NASA had more than 8800 employees 1.200, including headquarters employees1.200, Johnson Space Center employees 1.800, Kennedy Space Center employees/.800, Marshall Space Center employees/.2700, Stannis Space Center employees about 300, Ames Research Center and. From the business field, there are more than 6,700 people engaged in human space exploration and development, 2,453 people engaged in space science, 1.200 people engaged in biological and physical research, and 1.800 people engaged in earth science.

Scientific research activities

In aviation technology, geo-meteorology is mainly engaged in the following four aspects: ① aerodynamics: turbulence, airfoil, supersonic flight and so on. ② Propulsion technology: combustion and fuel, noise and its propagation, computational fluid dynamics, research on turbine mechanical parts. ③ Materials and structures: composite materials, high-temperature materials, dynamic loads and aeroelasticity, structural analysis, etc. (4) Avionics and human factors engineering: guidance/navigation, avionics, flight management and simulation technology.

The long-term goals of NASA are: to play a leading role in using space technology to meet national needs; Using the new space long-distance communication ability to serve the public; Maintain the advantages of American civil and military aviation; Continue scientific exploration and strengthen understanding of the universe, solar system and earth environment; Application, research and technical development of artificial satellites; Transfer of space technology and knowledge for general industry. At present, the main research scope and objectives of NASA include the following aspects.

Aerospace technology: realize technological and engineering revolution in aerospace field, develop more advanced and safer aviation technology, enhance carrying capacity and reduce radiation and noise; Innovate space transportation system, reduce cost, improve safety and conduct commercial development.

Human space exploration and development: explore the frontier of space, develop a space for human beings to work and live permanently, conduct commercial development of the universe, and share the experience and benefits brought by exploration.

Earth science: develop a system to understand earth science, explore its response to changes in the natural environment and human activities, and improve the prediction level of climate, weather and natural disasters.

Cosmic science: responsible for astronomical projects, studying the influence of solar system and solar activities on the earth.

Research topics and fields

A few days after the launch of the first artificial earth satellite of the former Soviet Union 1957, the United States established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which played an important role in the development of the American space industry. NASA has a wide range of research topics, mainly aerospace. The research topics in aviation mainly include supersonic technology and aircraft energy-saving technology. In aerospace, we mainly cooperate with several large-scale projects, such as Apollo program, Sky Lab and Space Shuttle. It maintains close relations with research institutions, universities and industrial enterprises of the Ministry of National Defense through scientific research projects, contracts and plans. It has more than a dozen research centers and laboratories, such as Goddard Space Center, Kennedy Space Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But more than 80% of scientific research work is entrusted to all units outside the bureau. The research results are published in the form of NASA publications. Publications include technical reports, technical descriptions, contract user reports, technical memoranda, technical translations, special publications, etc.

The annual budget of NASA is $654.38+0.6 billion, and its headquarters is in Washington, D.C. Besides the space program, NASA also conducts long-term civil and military aerospace research.

NASA is engaged in research fields: aviation research and exploration, including space science (solar system exploration, Mars exploration, moon exploration, cosmic structure and environment), earth science research (earth science, earth science application), biophysics research, and aviation (aviation technology), and undertakes certain training projects.

Scientific research discovery

On July 2 1 2009, NASA confirmed that Jupiter had been hit by other stars again in the past quite short time, resulting in a black scar near Jupiter's south pole and an earth-sized hole above Jupiter's atmosphere.

This new hole on Jupiter was first observed by Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley from Australia on the morning of 20th. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California then carried out observation activities and captured static pictures of Jupiter's holes and scars with the help of space infrared telescope equipment in Hawaii. Glenn Orton, an astronomical scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said: "The scar may have been caused by a comet impact, but it needs further confirmation." Reg Fletcher, an astronaut at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told New Scientist that Jupiter's black spot is "about the size of an earth".

Wesley, an Australian astronomy enthusiast who observed and photographed Jupiter's new hole, is 44 years old and is a computer programmer. Australian media reported that Wesley liked astronomical observation since he was a child, and the tool to find Jupiter's hole this time was a 14.5-inch folding reflecting telescope erected in his backyard. Wesley published his photos and shooting records online on the 20th. He said that on the same day, he first observed a "black spot" at Jupiter's South Pole, which was initially considered as "extreme violence" by Jupiter. However, with the rotation of Jupiter, he found that the black spots were three-dimensional and hollow, which immediately overturned the speculation of "extreme violence" and decided to use them as impact marks. Jupiter is a liquid planet and the largest of the eight planets in the solar system. 1July, 994 16 to 22, a comet named Shoemaker-Levi 9 collided head-on with Jupiter, which became the first celestial collision directly observed in human history.

The collision between comets and trees produced the power equivalent to 2 billion atomic bombs, produced fireballs with a diameter of 10 km and a temperature of 7000℃, and formed dust clouds the size of the earth. Black spots originating from Jupiter's surface have existed for several months. The New York Times reports that NASA is still tracking Jupiter to get more information, including whether the impactor is a comet or something else. Because the time of this collision is likely to coincide with the collision of Comet Wood 15 years ago, scientists also hope to study whether there is some law between them.