Dec 4 1966
From The Space Library
Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Harold Brown had indicated that future US. military exploration of space would concentrate on existing and proved technologies, Dr. I. M. Levitt, director of Fels Planetarium, reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Dr. Brown had isolated three areas of vital interest to the military: (1) electronic systems which would ensure long life and reliability in orbit; (2) reusable materials for spacecraft, launch vehicles, and propulsion systems; and (3) space electrical power systems which would provide better power-to-weight ratios at reduced cost per kw for long duration missions. (Levitt, Phil. Inq., 12/4/66, 5)
December 4-6: At 43rd annual convention, National League of Cities meeting in Las Vegas adopted resolution challenging priority given to US. space program and the Vietnam war and urged President Johnson to establish "a national rebirth of the American city." Detroit Mayor Jerome P. Cavanagh argued that if funds for low-income housing, poverty, and education were restored by cutting NASA's appropriation, space programs would be delayed only a few weeks. Budget requests for housing and urban development, he charged, had been cut 17 times as much as the NASA budget. (Janson, NYT, 12/5/66, 1; Wash. Post, 12/6/66, A8)
NASA Administrator James E. Webb responded to accusations that he was more concerned with life on Mars than with life in Chicago or Los Angeles: "Neither I nor any other leader in the space program has ever suggested that the space program should have any priority over the needs of the American City. . . ." He agreed that cities needed more Federal funds, but suggested that they must offer greater assurance that their programs would work well. Benefits in medical, industrial, and other fields added dimensions to space program far beyond the value of the lunar-landing program alone: he said.': (Transcript; Janson, NYT, 12/6/66, C34)
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