The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (Pub. L. 85-568)had eight objectives:*The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in space and theatmosphere;*The improvement of the performance, usefulness, safety, speed,and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;*The development and operation of vehicles capable of carryinginstruments, equipment, living organisms, and supplies throughspace;*The establishment of long-range studies of the potentialbenefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problemsinvolved in the use of aeronautical and space activities forscientific and peaceful purposes;*The preservation of the role of the U.S. as a leader inaeronautical and space science and technology and in theapplication thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities withinand outside of the atmosphere;*The making available to agencies directly concerned withnational defenses of discoveries that have military value orsignificance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilianagency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronauticaland space activities, of information as to discoveries which havevalue or significance to that agency;*Cooperation by the U.S. with other nations and groups ofnations in work done pursuant to this Act and in the peacefulapplication of the results thereof, and*The most effective utilization of the scientific andengineering resources of the U.S., with close cooperation among allinterested agencies of the U.S. in order to avoid unnecessaryduplication of effort, facilities, and equipment.