Home

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

photo of John Logsdon

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, May 2, 2011 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

John Logsdon

"John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon"

ABSTRACT -- Fifty years ago, on May 25, 1961, speaking before a joint session of Congress, President John F. Kennedy declared that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.” This was the public unveiling of the Apollo lunar landing program, which would become the most expensive peacetime initiative in U.S. history, as well as an enduring hallmark of Kennedy's presidency. My talk will be based on my new book, John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon. Drawing on extensive new research, this book is the definitive account of JFK's decision to send Americans to the Moon and of how that decision was implemented by Kennedy and his associates during his tragically shortened time in the White House. During the 30 months following his lunar landing decision, President Kennedy actively involved himself in the space program, weighing its implications for domestic and international politics. Kennedy reconsidered his moon landing decision on more than one occasion, but always concluded that the benefits of winning the space race outweighed its massive costs. The talk will trace the evolution of JFK's thinking and policies with regard to Project Apollo, including his hope of collaborating, rather than competing, with the Soviet Union—a possibility that was soon abandoned following his assassination. Filled with accounts of political maneuvering and new insights into how John Kennedy managed his presidency, this talk will be an illuminating look at how one of the most challenging undertakings in American history was made reality.

SPEAKER -- Dr. John M. Logsdon is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where he taught for 38 years and was the founder and long-time director of GW’s Space Policy Institute. Author of The Decision to Go to the Moon (1970) and the main article on “space exploration” for the Encyclopedia Britannica, he is a sought-after commentator on space issues who has appeared on all major broadcast and cable networks in addition to the print media. In 2008-2009 he held the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. He has served on numerous advisory committees, including the NASA Advisory Council, and was a member of the 2003 Columbia Accident Investigation Board.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov