What Day Is July 29? NASA Is Founded (1958)
July 29 is the 210th day of the year (211th in leap years). With 155 days remaining, it marks the founding of NASA in 1958 and the 1981 wedding of Charles and Diana.
About July 29
July 29 is the 210th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (211th in leap years). There are 155 days remaining until the end of the year. It is the founding date of an agency that would put humans on the Moon within eleven years.
The Significance of July 29
On July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA. The agency absorbed the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and its 8,000 employees, then added a new mission: human spaceflight. At founding, NASA had 170 employees and a budget of roughly $100 million. Eleven years later, on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Today the agency employs around 18,000 people, operates the James Webb Space Telescope, runs the Perseverance rover on Mars, and manages the Artemis program aimed at returning humans to the lunar surface. On July 29, 1981, Prince Charles and Lady Diana married at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, in a ceremony watched by approximately 750 million television viewers — one of the largest audiences in broadcast history to that point.
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On This Day in History
- 1958President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA. The agency launched its first astronaut program in 1961 and landed men on the Moon eleven years after its founding.
- 1981Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married at St Paul's Cathedral in London, watched by an estimated 750 million people worldwide.
Baby Names for This Day
July 29 falls under Leo. Names tied to space, exploration, and the pioneering spirit of NASA:
- NeilBoy
Neil Armstrong — NASA astronaut, first person to walk on the Moon.
- GlennBoy
John Glenn — the first American to orbit Earth, a NASA legend.
- StellaGirl
Latin for 'star' — what NASA reaches for.
- OrionBoy
NASA's current crewed spacecraft program for lunar and deep-space missions.
- DianaGirl
Lady Diana married on July 29, 1981; also the Roman goddess of the moon — apt for NASA day.
- IkeBoy
Eisenhower's nickname — the president who signed NASA into existence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What day is July 29?add
July 29 is the day NASA was founded in 1958, when President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act. It is also the anniversary of the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
What number day of the year is July 29?add
July 29 is the 210th day of the year, or the 211th in leap years, with 155 days remaining.
What sign is July 29?add
July 29 falls under the sign of Leo.