Feb 7 1958

From The Space Library

The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was established by the DOD, and Roy W. Johnson, a vice president of General Electric Co., was appointed by Secretary of Defense McElroy as its Director. ARPA was placed in charge of the Nation's outer space program.

To further the national space effort pending a decision as to permanent organization, the Secretary of Defense created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). ARPA was authorized to direct or perform advanced projects in the field of research and development. It was also empowered to deal directly with operational elements on all aspects of ARPA projects; for example, to bypass the Army Staff and the Chief of Ordnance in dealing with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency on what was to be the Saturn project. Roy W. Johnson was named ARPA Director.

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Manned Space Flight Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, Staff Report, 87th Congress, 2nd Session (1962), p. 156.