Jfk Space Race
We choose to go to the moon officially titled as the address at rice university on the nation s space effort is a speech delivered by united states president john f.
Jfk space race. He delivered this speech about space to a large audience at rice university in houston texas on september 12 1962. However much he might have wished to cooperate kennedy in 1961 had set the united states on a course to enter and win a race to the moon. A year earlier a russian had become the first human to orbit the earth.
Space program and committed the nation to the ambitious goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. In 1957 the soviet union launched the satellite sputnik and the space race was on. A number of political factors affected kennedy s decision and the timing of it.
Involvement in the vietnam war. Kennedy about the effort to reach the moon to a large crowd gathered at rice stadium in houston texas on september 12 1962. In 1961 president john f.
The speech largely written by kennedy advisor and speechwriter ted sorensen was intended to persuade the american people to support the apollo program the national effort to land a man on the moon. 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. Jfk and the space race.
This decision came in the aftermath of the huge global and domestic reaction to the april 12 1961 soviet launch of the first human to orbit earth yuri gagarin. Kennedy was assassinated on november 22 1963. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of congress the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an american safely to the moon before the end of the decade.
As the american space program known as gemini was pulling ahead of the soviets kennedy gave one of his last speeches on october 22 1963 before the national academy of sciences which was celebrating its 100th anniversary. The soviets triumph jarred the american people and sparked a vigorous response in the federal government to make sure the united states did not fall behind its communist rival. He expressed his overall support for the space program and emphasized the overall importance of science to the country.