Overview

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth

US President John F. Kennedy

In April 1961, when the Soviet Union chalked up another space record by launching the first man into space, America was already deep in the political doldrums of the Cuban missile crisis . Following its ignominious defeat in the Bay of Pigs confrontation, the nation needed a boost to its collective morale. Thus it was a combination of events that led President John F. Kennedy to make one of the most famous political directives of all time (Figure 8.1). On 25 May 1961, he made the following declaration to the US Congress:

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this period will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. ^[1]

Figure 8.1: President John F. Kennedy makes his famous speech to Congress on 25May 1961. In the background are Vice President Lyndon Johnson (left) and Speaker of the House Sam T. Rayburn (right) [NASA]

From that point on, NASA had a goal, the political backing and the money to turn the tables on the Soviet Union and...