Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

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Project Apollo: Americans to the Moon
we can’t move faster? The extra 78 million for Saturn indeed is some boost
but Saturn isN’t [sic] the long range solution and there is no crash program in
sight for the big Nova engine or solid fuels. Is the budget consideration and the
political climate the confining factor this year?
2. Might there now be a change in the Project Mercury? We get rumbles
that this pre-orbital shot coming up late this month has really been rushed in
hopes we might beat the Soviets. But there is more hazard in it than there should
be and now that shot should be delayed, maybe dropped entirely while we try to
leapfrog ahead.
3. How much of the feeling of no decision is due to the newness of the
administration and preoccupation with other things so far? Will there be a new
and tough look followed by some hard decisions soon?
Document II-7
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 14, 1961
MEMORANDUM FOR
THE PRESIDENT
The following points are pertinent to the Sidey memorandum:
First of all, no one in the Administration believes that the Russians are finished
with their space exploits or that there aren’t exciting space exploits still to be
carried out that they will undoubtedly drive hard to accomplish. Extended
duration flights of man in an earth orbit, unmanned and manned landings on
the moon, manned and unmanned exploration of the planets, manned space
stations and a variety of important applications of space are still ahead. Among
these are communications satellites, meteorological satellites and a variety of
military applications of satellite-based systems. We, of course, have no knowledge
at all about future Soviet intentions, but it would be surprising if they didn’t
pursue vigorously at least some of these possibilities.
Sidey is concerned that there is no long-term and very ambitious large booster
program. The previous Administration made the decision not to drive vigorously
for such a booster, although it did fund the F-1 engine, which would be needed
for the Nova booster, and in our recent budget review we provided $9 million
to accelerate that program. Because there was not a well developed program
looking beyond the Mercury man in space, this Administration has undertaken
to examine the range of possibilities which in turn will determine the future
booster program. It should be noted that we did add $14 million to the Rover
program to accelerate its research. We deferred a decision on the Rover rocket