The National Aeronautics and Space Administration which was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower is the United States government agency responsible for civilian space program as aeronautic and aerospace research. When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA absorbed the 46-year-old National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NACA. A significant contributor to NASA's entry into the Space Race with the Soviet Union was the technology from the German rocket program led by Wernher von Braun, who was now working for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), which in turn incorporated the technology of American scientist Robert Goddard's earlier works. In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a contractor
