May 30 1964
From The Space Library
NASA Administrator James E. Webb addressed Missouri Cotton Producers Association in Sikeston, Mo.: "Whether the Russians are attempting to build a rocket and spacecraft to match Saturn V and Apollo, we simply do not know. When they start flight tests of such a rocket, we should be able to identify it. Flight tests of our Saturn V will not begin until the 1967-68 period, and it is quite possible that the Russians may also be testing a super rocket by then. "This much we do know: It would be very foolish on our part to sit idle or to delay the Saturn V until we could confirm that the Soviets were also building super rockets. By that time, it would probably be too late for us to match them again in this century. "In our national space program we are moving rapidly and vigorously to do the things we need to do as a nation to prevent technological surprise, to prevent another major Soviet initiative based on space superiority. "We believe that peace and security and the possibility of useful co-operation with the Soviet Union all depend on our making doubly clear that they can hope to have no monopoly of space achievement to exploit for the purposes of communism. "Some people seem to think that our present space effort can be justified only if we are in a neck-and-neck race to the moon. These people miss the point. Our aim is not to race the Soviets, but to thoroughly discourage them from making an all-out effort to use space as a political, propaganda, or military weapon for greater power on earth. "I don't believe the American people are investing $20 billion in the Saturn-Apollo program of manned space flight in this decade just to keep even with the Soviets I think the American people want to lead, and lead without doubts and excuses. . . ." (Text)
At Missouri Valley College commencement exercises, NASA Administrator James E. Webb said: "For some time we in NASA have been concerned with doing our part to help build up the nation's supply of scientific and engineering manpower, and to ensure that our national competence grows rather than diminishes. Accordingly, in 1962, the agency initiated its present program of training graduate students in space-related fields, and nearly 900 students are already in training. "This fall the number of schools participating will grow from 88 to 131, located in 47 states-with four of these colleges here in Missouri. . . ." (Text)
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