over $64 billion for 41 submarines and 5,000 missiles and set aside the idea of a
military Moon base.
24
However, the situation changed again as the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin achieved a huge milestone and became the first man to go
into space. This shocked Washington once again, fuelling the idea that the US had
to go to the Moon.
On April 20, 1961, Kennedy wrote to Vice President Johnson, who was responsible for the space policy:
Do we have the chance to overcome the Soviets by sending a space laboratory into orbit, or taking a trip around the Moon, or sending a probe to land
on it, or launching a manned rocket to the Moon and back? Is there any other
space project that can offer sensational, successful results?
25
At that moment, the White House and public opinion were shaken by the international crises in Laos and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. On the
Caribbean island, the CIA had unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow Fidel
Castro’s pro-communist regime and the US reputation had been highly damaged.
The Moon thus became the ideal target to restore national pride and the nation’s
global geopolitical role.
NASA astronaut Alan Shepard was launched from Cape Canaveral onboard the
Mercury 3 capsule just a month after Gagarin’s flight. He did not actually go into
orbit; instead, the astronaut experienced a pure ballistic flight, reaching a 115-mile
altitude and landing in the Atlantic Ocean 15 minutes after take-off. His flight followed a similar path of a nuclear bomb and began to prove that America could be
in the game.
Von Braun took advantage of the moment to write a memo Vice President
Johnson, saying, “We have the opportunity to send three men around the Moon
before the Soviets, we are offered a wonderful opportunity to overcome the
Russians by being the first to send a crew to the Moon with the certainty of
return”.
26
Johnson spoke about this to President Kennedy in a face-to-face meeting.
No one knows exactly what was said, but Edward Welsh, one of White House staff
members closest to Kennedy, reported that at the end of that meeting, “America
was already halfway to the Moon”.
27
Speaking before the Congress on May 25,
1961, Kennedy announced that the landing of an American on the Moon would
take place within the decade.
28
24
United Stated Digital National Security Archive, US Nuclear History, 1955–1968.
25
Young, Hugo Bryan Silcock, and Peter Dunn. 1969. Journey to Tranquillity. Singapore: Times
Ltd Publishing.
26
idem
27
idem
28
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/xzw1gaeeTES6khED14P1Iw.aspx.
20 The Space Race: Moondust
military Moon base.
24
However, the situation changed again as the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin achieved a huge milestone and became the first man to go
into space. This shocked Washington once again, fuelling the idea that the US had
to go to the Moon.
On April 20, 1961, Kennedy wrote to Vice President Johnson, who was responsible for the space policy:
Do we have the chance to overcome the Soviets by sending a space laboratory into orbit, or taking a trip around the Moon, or sending a probe to land
on it, or launching a manned rocket to the Moon and back? Is there any other
space project that can offer sensational, successful results?
25
At that moment, the White House and public opinion were shaken by the international crises in Laos and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. On the
Caribbean island, the CIA had unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow Fidel
Castro’s pro-communist regime and the US reputation had been highly damaged.
The Moon thus became the ideal target to restore national pride and the nation’s
global geopolitical role.
NASA astronaut Alan Shepard was launched from Cape Canaveral onboard the
Mercury 3 capsule just a month after Gagarin’s flight. He did not actually go into
orbit; instead, the astronaut experienced a pure ballistic flight, reaching a 115-mile
altitude and landing in the Atlantic Ocean 15 minutes after take-off. His flight followed a similar path of a nuclear bomb and began to prove that America could be
in the game.
Von Braun took advantage of the moment to write a memo Vice President
Johnson, saying, “We have the opportunity to send three men around the Moon
before the Soviets, we are offered a wonderful opportunity to overcome the
Russians by being the first to send a crew to the Moon with the certainty of
return”.
26
Johnson spoke about this to President Kennedy in a face-to-face meeting.
No one knows exactly what was said, but Edward Welsh, one of White House staff
members closest to Kennedy, reported that at the end of that meeting, “America
was already halfway to the Moon”.
27
Speaking before the Congress on May 25,
1961, Kennedy announced that the landing of an American on the Moon would
take place within the decade.
28
24
United Stated Digital National Security Archive, US Nuclear History, 1955–1968.
25
Young, Hugo Bryan Silcock, and Peter Dunn. 1969. Journey to Tranquillity. Singapore: Times
Ltd Publishing.
26
idem
27
idem
28
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/xzw1gaeeTES6khED14P1Iw.aspx.
20 The Space Race: Moondust