Jul 31 1963
From The Space Library
National Aeronautics and Space Council met "to examine the interrelationship between the military and non-military aspects of the Space program, with Special attention to the Apollo project." Following the meeting, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, NASC Chairman, said: "I am impressed with the solid competence which we are building in space - a competence which can be used to further our national security, our prestige, our scientific knowledge, and our standard of living. The benefits flowing from NASA's lunar program, for example, contribute a foundation for a wide range of capabilities, including those of national defense. This is a coordinated national pro gram." (NASC Release)
NASA announced Paul Haney, Public Affairs Officer for NASA Office of Manned Space Flight, would replace Lt. Col. John A. Powers, MSC Public Affairs Officer, effective Sept. 1. Colonel Powers would become special assistant to Dr. Gilruth. (AP, Wash. Eve. Star, 7/31/63; NASA Release 63--167)
NASA Administrator James E. Webb said in address before National Association of Counties, Denver: "The question which now confronts the Congress, and the nation, is whether our progress [in the space program] has been so great that we can afford to be complacent; that we can begin to rest on our laurels with the comfortable assurance that a slower pace will still win the race. "The clear record of success which has come from five years of consistent, expanding effort has moved us well along the road to leadership in space. Those of us who have worked with this program have confidence that, given a continuation of that effort on a sustained basis, and at a level consistent with what our national resources and other national requirements permit, we will establish pre-eminence in all fields and we will achieve the national goal of exploring the moon within this decade. "Meanwhile, no one can have assurance that if we depart from the policies which have served us so nobly during our first five years in space, there is not grave danger that we will remain second best for a long time to come, or forever. We are in space because we believe that great scientific and economic benefits will result from our efforts But we are also in space because it is intimately related to our strength and security in a world in which men have not yet learned to live in peace with each other . . . ." (Text) )
Article by NASA scientists Dr. Homer E. Newell and Dr. Robert Jastrow in Atlantic Monthly inserted in Congressional Record by Sen. Clinton P. Anderson, Chairman of Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. Replying to scientists critical of pace set for landing men on the moon, the authors said "This question requires a further exploration of the motives underlying the U.S. space effort. Is it primarily a scientific program, or is it motivated by a broader concern with the national interest? Looking back to the overwhelming support given the new space program by the Congress in 1961, it seems clear that this support was not tendered for scientific reasons primarily, but came from a deep-seated conviction that the expanded program will make an important contribution to our future strength and security. We believe that this is the reason why the people have supported the enlarged space program. That brings us to the point on which we take issue with some of our scientific colleagues, who complain, `The scientific exploration of the moon has been accorded a secondary priority in the lunar program.' This remark is based on the premise that science should have top priority in the space program. However, while science plays an Important role in lunar exploration, it was never intended to be the primary objective of that project. The impetus of the lunar project is derived from its place in the long-range U.S. program for the exploration of the solar system. The heart of that program is man in space, the extension of man's control over his physical environment. The science and technology of space flight are ancillary developments which support the main thrust of manned exploration, while at the same time they bring valuable returns to our economy and our culture. The science which we do in space provides the equivalent of the gold and spices recovered from earlier voyages of exploration. It is the return to the taxpayer for his investment in his nations future. But the driving force of the program is not in scientific research alone, valuable though that may in the long run. Thus, the pace of the program must be set, not by the measured patterns of scientific research, but by the need for a vigorous response to the national challenge . . . ." (Text, OR, 7/31/63, A4874-76)
USAF launched Thor-Agena D with unidentified satellite from PMR. (Pres. Rpt. on Space, 1963)
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