Oct 12 1968
From The Space Library
Washington Post editorial noted total cost of space program to date was upwards of $20 billion: "The expenditure of sums of money like these cannot be justified in terms of the military or civilian spinoff, although both have been substantial, or of the knowledge we have gained about the atmosphere surrounding our planet. But they can be justified in terms of the national prestige that is to be won or lost in space and of the inevitable fate of man to pursue knowledge towards its ultimate end in hope of some day achieving a better understanding of what the earth and universe are all about. It is in this latter hope that we cheer the astronauts on, wish them well in their planned 163 orbits of the earth, pray for their safe return, and urge those who make the crucial decisions about the future space program to proceed with all deliberate speed to reach the goal President Kennedy put before us." (W Post, 10/12/68, A12)
"NASA's 10th anniversary was celebrated with appropriate fanfare, but the 11th anniversary of the Space Age, which came during the same week, slipped by with barely a nod of recognition," James J. Haggerty, Jr., charged in Armed Forces Journal. "It should have been given more attention. The U.S. needs a continual reminder that we were dragged kicking and screaming into space exploration, that the U.S. space program was born only out of reaction to the accomplishments of another nation. . . . "The summary for 11 years of space launchings shows a total of 881 launches through the Oct. 4 anniversary date. About 400 of all the spacecraft launched still are in orbit. "The U.S. enjoyed a considerable quantitative lead at the end of the 11-year period. It sent into orbit 564 spacecraft, or 64% of the total, compared with 298 spacecraft, or 33%, for the USSR. . . . "Manned flights, of course, were confined to the U.S. and the USSR. Through the anniversary date the U.S. had launched 14 flights involving 24 astronauts and 1,993 man-hours; the USSR had made nine flights with 12 cosmonauts piling up 532 man-hours." (AFJ, 10/12/68, 13)
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