John F. Kennedy 1962 Typed Memorandum With Handwritten Edits - Space Race

35th President. One page on White House letterhead, 6.75x8.75, Washington, August 27, 1962. With holographic changes in the President's hand. Addressed to Secretary of the Air Force Eugene Zuckert, the memorandum reads, in full (with holographic changes in bold):

Thank you for your memorandum to me on space.

I am not so much interested in quotations from my previous speeches as I am in finding out exactly what programs the Air Force recommended to us for fiscal 63 which were not approved by the Defense Department or by me.

Secondly, I would like to find out if there were any programs which were submitted prior to the Soviet flight by the Air Force which were not approved by the Defense Department.

Thirdly, I noticed that TIME Magazine of this week, August 31st, has a quotation ascribed to you and McNamara - 'But the tone and the pace of our program was not right.' I do not know how TIME secured this quotation, but I would be interested in having your suggestions as to how we can improve the tone and pace of our program.

Accompanied by a typed transcription of Kennedy's edits and a typed revised version of the memo.

In 1961, the nation suffered a shock when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth. The United States, it seemed, was falling behind. President Kennedy understood the need to restore America's confidence and intended not merely to match the Soviets, but surpass them. On May 25, 1961, he stood before Congress to deliver a special message on "urgent national needs." He asked for an additional $7 billion to $9 billion over the next five years for the space program, proclaiming that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the earth." President Kennedy settled upon this dramatic goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing the nation's lagging space efforts.

By 1962, the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union had been in full effect for over seven years. In June 1963, the U.S.S.R successfully sent the first civilian, and first female, Valentina Tereshkova, into space for almost three days aboard Vostok 6. The American space program, for its part, engaged in several initiatives throughout 1963 that included the X-15 flights as well as the creation of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program.

The Presidential Recordings John F. Kennedy - The Great Crises, Volume One edited by Timothy Naftali notes that Kennedy, on Monday, August 27, 1962:

The President had spent the weekend in Newport, Rhode Island, and reached the White House just after 10:00 A.M . He had no scheduled appointments until noon, when he was to be at Walter Reed Hospital to present the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service to Major Lawrence R. Bailey, who had been kept a prisoner in Laos for over a year. Sometime during the day the President dictated a memorandum to Eugene Zuckert, the secretary of the Air Force.

After his conversation with the President on August 21, 1962, Zuckert replied by memorandum, criticizing Kennedy for focusing in his public statements solely on the peaceful uses of space. This emphasis, he argued, created an international perception that while NASA programs were peaceful, the U.S. military’s programs had to be “war-like and aggressive.” Zuckert told Kennedy that “this philosophical limitation must be removed if we are to provide the climate for an energetic space program aimed at the national security.” He stressed that this change in rhetoric was the “most important single action” that the President could take “in behalf of the military space program.” As if this confidential criticism were not enough to irritate the President, Time magazine published a short piece about the space program which quoted Zuckert as saying “The tone and pace of our program are not right.” The article also stated that the Air Force “had consistently had its proposals turned down by the Department of Defense.” The President needed to respond.

An amazing space race relic.