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I
n the early 1960s, the US
lagged behind the Soviet
Union in the “Space Race.”
The Soviets had launched the first
satellite in 1957, and on April 16,
1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first
human in space. In response, in
1961 US President John F. Kennedy
publicly committed to landing a
man on the moon before the end
of the decade. The project was
carefully chosen—landing on
the moon was so far beyond the
capabilities of either protagonist
that the Soviets’ early lead might
not seem so significant.
Despite the reservations of
many at the time regarding a
moon landing’s scientific value,
especially given the dangers and
technical complexities involved,
human spaceflight was now the
focus of the US space program.
NASA managers felt that with
enough funding they could put a
man on the moon by 1967. NASA
administrator James E. Webb
suggested another two years
be added as a contingency.
In those six years from 1961
to 1967, NASA tripled its workforce,
even though most of the planning,
designing, and building of theTHE SPACE RACE
hardware was undertaken by
private industry, research institutes,
and universities. NASA claimed
that only the construction of the
Panama Canal and the Manhattan
Project to develop the nuclear bomb
rivaled the effort and expense of
the Apollo program.Which way to the moon?
At the time of Kennedy’s historic
announcement, the US boasted a
grand total of 15 minutes of human
spaceflight. To move from here to aIN CONTEXT
KEY ORGANIZATION
NASA—Apollo (1961–1972)BEFORE
1957 The Soviet Union
surprises the US by launching
the first satellite, Sputnik 1.1961 Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
is the first person to travel into
space and to orbit Earth.AFTER
1975 The first joint US–USSR
space project officially marks
the end of the Space Race.1994–1998 US and Russian
space agencies share skills
and expertise during the
Shuttle–Mir program.2008 Indian lunar mission
Chandrayaan-1 finds evidence
of widespread water ice on
the moon’s surface.2015 Chinese rover Yutu
discovers distinct layers of
rock, including a new type
of basalt, on the moon.Gene Kranz Perhaps the embodiment of the
NASA spirit is not the heroic
astronauts but the legendary
Apollo flight director Gene
Kranz. Born in 1933, Kranz was
fascinated by space from an early
age. He served as a pilot with the
US Air Force before leaving to
pursue rocket research with the
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
and then NASA.
Prominent and colorful,
with a brutally close-cut flattop
hairstyle, Kranz was unmistakable
in Mission Control, dressed in his
dapper white “mission” vests
made by his wife.Although he never actually
spoke the words “Failure is not
an option”—they were written
for his character in the movie
Apollo 13—they sum up his
attitude. Kranz’s address to
his Flight Control staff after the
Apollo 1 disaster has gone down
in history as a masterpiece of
motivational speaking. In it,
he stated the Kranz Dictum—
“tough and competent”—that
would guide Mission Control.
Kranz was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
in 1970 for successfully
returning Apollo 13 to Earth.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.
John F. Kennedy