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

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Project Apollo: Americans to the Moon
John M. Curran – Procurement Review Office – NASA Headquarters
Wilbur H. Gray – NASA Technical Representative, McDonnell
Aircraft Corp.
Such other business management of financial representation as may be
required from other government activities may be requested or designated as
requested.
Document II-14
Document Title: “Memorandum for the President by James Webb, 14 September
1961.
Source: Folder 18675, NASA Historical Reference Collection, History Division,
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
With Presidential announcement of the decision to go to the Moon, it was clear that NASA
would need to create a new Field Center dedicated to human spaceflight. The chair of NASA’s
House Appropriations Committee, Representative Albert Thomas of Houston, Texas, made
it very clear that he expected the new Center to be located in or near his district (Volume
II, Document III-7). Even so, at the very least NASA had to go through the motions of an
open competition for the location of the Center, and a number of localities in different states
(and their Governors, Senators, and Congressmen) made their interest in being chosen well
known. President Kennedy’s home state of Massachusetts put particular pressure on NASA
and the White House to consider Hingham Air Force Base near Boston as the location.
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
September 14, 1961
In view of the situation which has arisen in Massachusetts, I believe you
should know personally that Dr. Hugh Dryden and I, last night and this morning,
have carefully reviewed all the factors relating to the location of the manned
space flight center. It included a careful examination of the material brought
back from Hingham yesterday by the site survey team. The team was sent without
notification to the Governor or anyone in Massachusetts and made its visit and
examination without any publicity so far as I know.
Our decision is that this laboratory should be located at Houston, Texas,
in close association with Rice University and the other educational institutions
there and in that region.
A press release has been prepared announcing this decision, and we are
holding it for issue after White House notification of those which your staff feels
should have advance information.