The Race to Control Space

“We have vowed that we shall see space filled not with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding"
-President Kennedy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, September 12, 1962

President Kennedy was eager for the United  States to lead the way in exploring space.  The Soviet Union was ahead of the United States, having launched the first satellite Sputnik in 1957 and the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to orbit around the earth in 1961.

President Kennedy said, “No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.” In 1961 Kennedy asked Congress to approve more than twenty two billion dollars for Project Apollo, which had the goal of landing an American man on the moon before the end of the decade.

First, go to this website at the JFK Museum. Read the introduction and the JFK and Space material. 


Read the telegram and the two memos and answer the SIX questions that follow:

Telegram A.
On April 12, 1961 cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin from the Soviet Union orbited around the 
earth in 108 minutes. The same day President Kennedy wrote a telegram to Premier Nikita 
Khrushchev congratulating the Soviets on the first successful manned flight.

Memo B.
A few days later President Kennedy wrote a memo on April 20, 1961 to Vice President 
Lyndon B. Johnson, who was the chairman of the Space Council.

Memo C.
Eight days later, Vice President Johnson responded to President Kennedy’s memo.


1. In the telegram to Premier Nikita Khrushchev, how does President Kennedy say he would like the United States and the Soviet Union to work on exploring outer space?      
President Kennedy says that he wants the United States and the Soviet Union to "work together to obtain the greatest benefit to mankind" "in the continuing quest for knowledge of outer space".

2. In the memo to Vice President Lyndon Johnson, what is President Kennedy's main objective?        
President Kennedy's main objective in the memo to Vice President Lyndon Johnson is to find out how the space program in the U.S. can become more efficient in able to surpass the Soviets with its feats. 

3. What is the main difference between what President Kennedy says in the telegram and what he says in the memo in terms of how the Americans and the Soviets should explore
outer space?        
The main difference between what President Kennedy says in the telegram and what he says in the memo in terms of how the Americans and the Soviets should explore outer space is that in the telegram Kennedy says he wants the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. to work together to learn more about space, while in the memo Kennedy asks about if the U.S. can beat the Soviets by putting a laboratory in space, a man on the moon, a trip around the moon, etc.


4. Why do you think President Kennedy appears to be giving two conflicting statements?      
I think President Kennedy appears to be giving two conflicting statements because in the telegram he's talking to the Soviet leader who he doesn't want to offend, therefore he worded it in such a way that the U.S. maintained some dignity and he made it seem as if he hoped for friendly cooperation between the two countries during their explorations in space, while in the memo he was more honest since it was directed towards the vice president, and he was more blunt because he was eager to know how the U.S. could get the upper hand on the Soviets in this "space race".

5. How does Vice President Johnson connect the space race with the Cold War in his April 28th memo to President Kennedy?       
Vice President Johnson connects the space race with the Cold War in his April 28th memo to President Kennedy by summing up the tensions between the two powers, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.; showing each nation's desire for world leadership. He states that the Soviets are closer to world leadership because they have had more space accomplishments, therefore other nations view them as more capable of such leadership. He also consistently says that the U.S. needs to do more to catch up and to gain that world leadership position that they desire. 


6. What are Vice President Johnson’s suggestions for the President?      

Vice President Johnson's suggestions for the President are: fund the space programs with an estimated $500 million, make wise choices and have more concentrated efforts, more resources need to be given to the space programs, and the public should be told of the United States' stance in the space race.