On Jul. 29, 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA), leading to the birth of NASA on Oct. 1, 1958 and related medical device and life science development.

On April 2, 1958, in a letter to Congress President Eisenhower called for the creation of a civilian National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), based on the existing National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), to oversee the U.S. space program. Although a former military commander, Eisenhower believed a civilian agency would be more effective than assigning space to the military, where inter-service rivalries had already demonstrated a lack of results in launching a satellite.

Since its inception, NASA has accomplished numerous scientific and technological feats in air and space. NASA technology also has been adapted for many non-aerospace uses by the private sector. NASA is a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general.