UTSI was born in the aftermath of World War II and in the midst of the Cold War. The seeds that ultimately led to UTSI began in the 1930s. Victorious in World War I, the United States had assumed an attitude of arrogant superiority. It believed itself to be impregnable and the leader of the world in all fields of science. This was shown to not be true. German aeronautical superiority resulted in German fielding of the first jet propelled aircraft and ballistic missiles. Had the German manufacturing capability been equivalent to that of the United States, the outcome of World War II would no doubt have been different.

Very few academic institutions offered engineering or refresher courses in space technology at that time. Dr. B.H. Goethert seized upon this national need and proposed to the Air Force and the State of Tennessee that a “Tennessee Aerospace Institute” be located near AEDC. As a result of Dr. Goethert’s proposal, the University of Tennessee Space Institute was finally established in 1964.

UTSI is an institution unlike any in the United States, perhaps even the entire world. It plays a unique role of vital importance to the US Air Force, and is thus a critical element in the preservation of freedoms and security that Americans have long come to enjoy. It was founded in the wake of two technological revolutions – the development of the airplane and the development of the rocket. In the years since 1964, UTSI’s faculty, students, and alumni have played critical roles in the furthering of American technological superiority in aeronautics and space arenas.