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In October 1958, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was being operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for the Army. JPL worked on projects such as the Corporal and Sergeant missiles and had already built the first U.S. Earth-orbiting satellite, Explorer I.

Shortly after T. Keith Glennan was appointed head of the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), he met with Lee DuBridge, President of Caltech, to discuss the transfer of JPL from the Army to NASA. In the photo above are: (L to R) DuBridge; Glennan; Clark Millikan, Director of Caltech's Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory; Hugh Dryden, Glennen's Deputy Administrator; and William Pickering, Director of JPL.

In The Birth of NASA: The Diary of T. Keith Glennan, he conceded the "technical competance" of JPL's personnel, but despite its past successes, he had a low opinion of its management. JPL, Caltech, and Army reactions to the transfer ranged from little enthusiasm to strong opposition.

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