Commems Collection Modern: What If? 2008 N A S A 50th Anniversary - 110th Congress - Part I

I've decided to split this story into five parts (vs. three), due to the extent of the details included in the bills and the actions in the 110th Congress being too substantial to combine the bills of the 110th and 111th Congresses into one post. I've also split the 110th Congress actions into two parts because of the scope included in the bills discussed. The split should also help reduce the length of this post to "very long" vs. "obscenely long."

Previous discussions:

- What If? 2008 N A S A 50th Anniversary - 108th Congress
- What If? 2008 N A S A 50th Anniversary - 109th Congress

A Bit of History - Part III

Continuing the NACA-NASA story from my 109th Congress post...

After the US entered World War II, The National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) transitioned from a primarily research-focused organization to one that turned its attentions to pragmatically improving the technologies of the US' military aircraft. The Association saw noteworthy growth during the War (from ~500 employees to over 7,000) as it pushed to meet its wartime objectives.

Following the end of World War II, NACA increased the number of its facilities and improved the technology available for research at its existing aites. It also executed a plan to return to its aeronautical research roots.

During this time, NACA delved into researching high-speed flight and jet propulsion which led to better wind and engine designs that helped enable supersonic flight.

The Cold War brought additional funding to NACA, which fueled continued growth, and also served as a catalyst for expansion of its research activities into rockets and space travel. Following Russia's launch of the Sputnik satellite (on October 4, 1957), the focus of NACA quickly came to the forefront of discussion.

NACA leadership soon advocated for it to become the US' national space agency. President Dwight David Eisenhower supported the plan and, in April 1958, called for the creation of a civilian space agency. Congress responded quickly, and Eisenhower signed the resulting legislation into law on July 29, 1958

On October 1, 1958, NACA transitioned into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (See the "Findings" outline below for more on NASA.)



The 110th Congress saw the introduction of four bills (House of Representatives 3; Senate 1) calling for coins to mark "the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration." The first House bill of the 110th Congress carried forth the titling of the bills introduced in the 108th and 109th Congresses by including "and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory" after the NASA reference. Future bills of the 110th Congress dropped the JPL from their title.

Note: The JPL traces its roots to 1936, but was not an official entity until the mid-1940s when US Army funding was initiated. In December 1958, the JPL was transferred to the newly-formed NASA.

The first of the House bills saw the longest "Findings" section that I have yet to encounter. It includes 19 main bullets and 25 sub-bullets. Enjoy:

"The Congress finds that--

"(1) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration began operation on October 1, 1958, with about 8,000 employees and an annual budget of $100,000,000;

"(2) over the next 50 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been involved in many defining events which have shaped the course of human history and demonstrated to the world the character of the people of the United States;

"(3) among the many firsts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are that—

"(A) on December 6, 1958, the United States launched Pioneer 3, the first United States satellite to ascend to an altitude of 63,580 miles;

"(B) on March 3, 1959, the United States sent Pioneer 4 to the Moon, successfully making the first United States lunar flyby;

"(C) on April 1, 1960, the United States launched TIROS 1, the first successful meteorological satellite, observing Earth's weather;

"(D) on May 5, 1961, Freedom 7, carrying Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., was the first American space flight involving human beings;

"(E) on February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to circle the Earth, making 3 orbits in his Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft;

"(F) on December 14, 1962, Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to commit a successful planetary flyby (Venus);

"(G) on April 6, 1965, the United States launched Intelsat I (also known as Early Bird 1), the first commercial satellite (communications), into geostationary orbit;

"(H) on June 3 through 7, 1965, the second piloted Gemini mission, Gemini IV, stayed aloft for 4 days, and astronaut Edward H. White II performed the first EVA or "spacewalk" by an American;

"(I) on June 2, 1966, Surveyor 1 became the first American spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon;

"(J) on May 31, 1971, the United States launched Mariner 9, the first mission to orbit another planet (Mars) beginning November 13, 1971;

"(K) on April 12, 1981, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the Space Shuttle Columbia on the first flight of the Space Transportation System (STS-1).

"(L) on June 18, 1983, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-7) carrying 3 mission specialists, including Sally K. Ride, the first woman astronaut;

"(M) in another historic mission, 2 months later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched STS-8 carrying the first black American astronaut, Guion S. Bluford; and

"(N) on July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia's 26th flight was led by Air Force Col. Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a Shuttle mission;

"(4) on April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration unveiled the Mercury astronaut corps, 7 men with "the right stuff": John H. Glenn, Jr., Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Alan B. Shepard, Jr., M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton;

"(5) on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy, reflecting the highest aspirations of the American people, proclaimed: "I believe this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.";

"(6) on September 19, 1961, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration center dedicated to human space flight would be built in Houston, Texas;

"(7) on February 17, 1973, the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center;

"(8) on December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 took off atop a Saturn V booster from the Kennedy Space Center for a historic mission to orbit the Moon;

"(9) as Apollo 8 traveled outward, the crew focused a portable television camera on Earth and for the first time humanity saw its home from afar, a tiny, lovely, and fragile "blue marble" hanging in the blackness of space;

"(10) this transmission and viewing of Earth from a distance was an enormously significant accomplishment and united the Nation at a time when American society was in crisis over Vietnam, race relations, urban problems, and a host of other difficulties;

"(11) on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin made the first lunar landing mission while Michael Collins orbited overhead in the Apollo command module;

"(12) Armstrong set foot on the surface of the Moon, telling the millions of listeners that it was "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind", and Aldrin soon followed and planted an American flag, but omitted claiming the land for the United States, as had routinely been done during European exploration of the Americas;

"(13) the 2 Moon walkers left behind an American flag and a plaque bearing the inscription: "Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. Jul. 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace for All Mankind.";

"(14) on April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into space aboard the STS-31 mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery, and since then, the Hubble has revolutionized astronomy, while expanding our knowledge of the universe and inspiring millions of scientists, students, and members of the public with its unprecedented deep and clear images of space;

"(15) on July 4, 1997, the Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars and on January 29, 1998, an International Space Station agreement among 15 countries met in Washington, DC, to sign agreements to establish the framework for cooperation among the partners on the design, development, operation, and utilization of the Space Station;

"(16) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's stunning achievements over the last 50 years have been won for all mankind at great cost and sacrifice; in the quest to explore the universe, many National Aeronautics and Space Administration employees have lost their lives, including the crews of Apollo 1, the Space Shuttle Challenger, and the Space Shuttle Columbia;

"(17) the success of the United States space exploration program in the 20th Century augurs well for its continued leadership in the 21st Century, such leadership being attributable to the remarkable and indispensable partnership between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its 10 space and research centers, including—

"(A) from small spacecraft to supercomputers, science missions and payloads to thermal protection systems, information technology to aerospace, the Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, which provides products, technologies, and services that enable NASA missions and expand human knowledge.

"(B) the Dryden Flight Research Center, the leading center for innovative flight research;

"(C) the Glenn Research Center, which develops power, propulsion, and communication technologies for space flight systems and aeronautics research;

"(D) the Goddard Space Flight Center, which specializes in research to expand knowledge on the Earth and its environment, the solar system, and the universe through observations from space;

"(E) the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the leading center for robotic exploration of the Solar System;

"(F) the Johnson Space Center, which manages the development, testing, production, and delivery of all United States human spacecraft and all human spacecraft-related functions;

"(G) the Kennedy Space Center, the gateway to the Universe and world leader in preparing and launching missions around the Earth and beyond;

"(H) the Langley Research Center, which continues to forge new frontiers in aviation and space research for aerospace, atmospheric sciences, and technology commercialization to improve the way the world lives;

"(I) the Marshall Space Flight Center, a world leader in developing space transportation and propulsion systems that accelerate exploration and scientific discovery, including the Michoud Assembly Facility, which has been a world-class facility since 1961 for fabrication of large space structures, including the Saturn V and the Space Shuttle External Tank, and which will have a critical role in the Constellation program, including manufacturing major pieces of the Orion crew capsule, the Ares I upper stage, and the Ares V core stage; and

"(J) the Stennis Space Center, which is responsible for rocket propulsion testing and for partnering with industry to develop and implement remote sensing technology;

"(18) the United States should pay tribute to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and to its successful partnerships with the space and research centers, by minting and issuing a commemorative silver dollar coin; and

"(19) the surcharge proceeds from the sale of a commemorative coin would generate valuable funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Families Assistance Fund, for the purposes of providing need-based financial assistance to the families of any National Aeronautics and Space Administration personnel who lose their lives as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties, and for other worthy and important purposes."

(This section would be updated in later bills; to be covered in 110th Congress - Part II.)

The bill was introduced by Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) in May 2007 and was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. It called for 50,000 Gold $50 coins and up to 300,000 each of nine different Silver Dollars. (emphasis added) Regarding designs,the legislation specified:

- For the Gold $50 coin: an obverse featuring an "image of the sun" and a reverse with "a design emblematic of the sacrifice of the United States astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty over the course of the space program."

An interesting aspect of the proposed Gold $50 coin was that it was to feature high-relief for all included design elements and inscriptions on both sides.

- For the Silver Dollars: The obverse of each Silver Dollar was to feature one of the nine planets of the Solar System. The reverse of each was to feature a design "emblematic of discoveries and missions of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the planet depicted on the obverse on the coin."

The bill provided further specifications for four of the Silver Dollar reverse designs:

>>> EARTH COIN. The reverse of the Earth Silver Dollar "shall bear images emblematic of, and honoring, the discoveries and missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Mercury, Gemini and Space Shuttle missions and other manned Earth-orbiting missions, and the Apollo missions to the Moon."

>>> JUPITER COIN. The reverse of the Jupiter Silver Dollar "shall include a scientifically accurate depiction of the Galilean moon Europa and depict both a past and future mission to Europa."

>>> SATURN COIN. The reverse of the Jupiter Silver Dollar "shall include a scientifically accurate depiction of the moon Titan and depict both a past and a future mission to Titan.

>>> PLUTO (AND OTHER DWARF PLANETS) COIN. The reverse of the Pluto/Dwarf Planets Silver Dollar "shall include a design that is emblematic of telescopic exploration of deep space by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the ongoing search for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars."

Also carried forward from the bills of the 108th and 109th Congresses bills was the "Realistic and Scientifically Accurate Depictions" provision. Dropped, however, was the provision for "Symbolic Inclusion of Metals That Have Flown in Space." No relic coins with this bill!

Both NASA and the JPL were to be included in the development and selection of the coin designs.

The Gold $50 coin was to carry a surcharge of $50 in its issue price and the Silver Dollar issue price was to include a $10 surcharge. Of the collected surcharges, the NASA Family Assistance Fund was to receive the first $1 million; the next $1 million was to be evenly split between:

- The Dr. Ronald E. McNair Educational (D.R.E.M.E.) Science Literacy Foundation "for the purposes of improving and strengthening the process of teaching and learning science, math, and technology at all educational levels, elementary thru college through the promotion of innovative educational programs." and

- The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence "for the purposes of supporting the work of the Foundation in building critical thinking skills, experiential teaching methods, science literacy, and integrated approaches to learning and individual responsibility in achieving excellence."

Any surcharge funds available after the initial $2 million was to be paid to the Save America's Treasures at the National Trust for Historic Preservation "to be used for the preservation and display, at all appropriate sites, of vehicles flown as part of the United States space program, particularly of surviving space shuttle vehicles and artifacts, and of associated equipment."

Considering the potential level of surcharge funds that could be collected by the program - a sell out of the 2.7 million Silver Dollars would have raised $27 million, for example - the National Trust would have received significant funds from the coin program.

The bill included a provision that allowed the Mint to strike Bronze duplicates of the Gold $50 coin. It did not specify that the coin-specific inscriptions (e.g., the denomination) were to be omitted, but such would likely have been the case.

The bill was never reported out of Committee and ultimately died for lack of action. There were three more bills to be introduced in the 110th Congress, however, so the inaction on this bill was not the end of the line for its intent.


For more of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? stories, see: Commems Collection.