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"We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor." - Oliver Wendell Holmes The goals of the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration were enhanced by President John F. Kennedy's speech to Congress on May 25, 1961. Click here to hear the entire section of the speech about the space program from the JFK Library. 'First, 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 the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations - explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon - if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.'
Click here to watch a short video clip from the speech. The success of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs in the 1960's was due to a firm commitment to the space program by Congress and the American people. The goals of each program were successfully met and each became the platform for the next program, each program a steppingstone to the next. Next...
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