Sep 12 1962
From The Space Library
President Kennedy toured NASA’s Manned Space Center, after speaking at Rice University, Houston, where he said: ". . Man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.
"Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space.
"We mean to be a part of it. We mean to lead it, for the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace.
"We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.
"Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading spacefaring nation.
"We sail on this new Sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own.
"Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of preeminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new, terrifying theater of war.
"1 do not say that we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours.
"There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again "We choose to go to the moon . . . in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
"It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the Presidency. . . .
"We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public.
"To be sure, we are behind, and will be behind for some time in manned space flight. But we do not intend to stay behind. In this decade we shall make up and move ahead. . . ."
NASA announced it would launch a special satellite before the end of the year to "obtain information on possible effects of radiation on future satellites and to give the world's scientific community additional data on the artificial environment created by the [radiation] belt." The 100-lb. satellite would be launched from Cape Canaveral into au elliptical orbit ranging from about 170-mi. perigee to 10,350-mi. apogee.
USAF Titan II rocket flew 5,000 miles in its third success of five test launchings. All test objectives were met on the 30-min. flight from Cape Canaveral to target area near Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
U.K. and Canada supported U.S. request that U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space concentrate on international cooperation on space programs rather than on legal matters that contained elements of "a highly political and controversial nature." NASA management meeting held to brief key officials on a manned space station program and to discuss possible FY 1964 funding.
Senate passed bill (S. 3138) to authorize FAA to conduct research to "determine what. means and criteria can be employed to reduce and, hopefully, eliminate objectionable aircraft noise." Bill was referred to the House.
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research dedicated a new, 55,000-watt nuclear reactor, to be used in research on "creating a medication to ward off radiation." First "mystery" satellite in history of space exploration was launched, according to British magazine Flight International. Magazine said satellite orbited at height of 113 mi. and reentered earth's atmosphere 12 days later. Satellite was listed as belonging to USAF, but spokesman said this was a "scientific guess based on our assessment of previous satellite launchings." Launching was not confirmed, and no official U.S. listing included such a satellite.
Balloon-borne Cassegrain telescope was launched from Artesia, N.M., to altitude of about 86,000 ft. by USAF Cambridge Research Laboratories. Besides the telescope, the 850-lb. payload included interferometer spectrometer to take spectra of moon and planet Venus. Other information obtained on this initial Project Skytop flight concerned amount of water vapor present in upper atmosphere. Third objective of flight was to obtain information required to measure amount of different gases in upper atmosphere of Venus. Instrumentation failure prevented the telescope from orienting on Venus for sufficient length of time.
USAF named first two test pilots of the mach three RS-70: Lt. Col. Joseph F. Cotton, of Rushville, Ind.; and Maj. Fitzhugh Fulton, of Talladega, Ala.
Two USN pilots, in separate flights, officially claimed two world flying records held by U.S.S.R. since 1940. LCdr. Fred A. W. Franke reached 27,380-ft. altitude in OF-2G Albatross amphibian with 4,410-lb. load; L Cdr. Donald E. Moore reached 29,460-ft. altitude in same aircraft with 2,205-lb. load. Both flights were made from New York NA Floyd Bennett Field.
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