JFK’s moon speech was 60 years ago. Has the US lived up to it? – Houston Chronicle

But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? he said on Sept. 12, 1962. And they may as well ask: Why does Rice play Texas?

60 YEARS AGO: Historic photos show JFK's speech at Rice Stadium, where he promised to reach the moon

Many in the crowd of 35,000 laughed as they sweated in the stands that hot Houston morning. They were rapt. And they then became witnesses to one of the most famous moments of Kennedys presidency, one which cemented the U.S. commitment to the space race and served as a precursor to decades of advancements in technology and exploration.

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, he said.

Many historians say Kennedys 17-minute address galvanized the country behind him, and Americans in 1969 achieved the goal with time to spare. But 60 years after the president took the podium at Rice, no politician has succeeded in taking up his mantle on space and America hasnt chased its planetary ambitions at the same rate or with the same fervor Kennedy first demanded, several policy experts said.

Were not living up to that. I dont feel anybody has ever, before or since, said Greg Autry, clinical professor and director of the Thunderbird Initiative for Space Leadership, Policy, and Business at Arizona State University. The sense of caution is not in keeping with the level the level of innovation this country needs.

Space industry leaders said that having a more careful approach doesnt detract from the countrys many achievements - and Autry said he remains excited about the Artemis I test mission, which is meant to send an uncrewed flight into orbit around the moon to prepare for astronauts return to the surface in 2025. (The rockets launch was scrubbed in late August because of a fuel leak.)

Still, the fact that it took Americans less than eight years to successfully land on the moon the first time also indicates that more progress is possible than the space industry is harnessing today, experts said.

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The country is too politically divided, said John Logsdon, founder of George Washington Universitys Space Policy Institute. No global dispute has created the same push for innovation or unification like the Cold War did, even while China and Russia remain competitors in the industry.

The circumstances that made Apollo possible were unique to that time and to the personalities involved, he said. They have not reoccurred.

Kennedys visit to Houston was highly anticipated, part of a four-city tour of key centers of the nations space program. Houston had been announced the year before as the site of a $60 million manned spacecraft center that would become the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center - shortly after Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress to shore up support for the nations space program and announce his intent to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.

On Wed. Sept. 12, Kennedy rode through Houston in his open-top limousine, with possibly 300,000 people lining the streets for a ticker-tape parade.

The city and county declared a half-holiday for the occasion, and many public elementary and high schools bused students to Rice Stadium to watch the speech. One man, 51-year-old Russell L. Johnson, arrived at 2:15 a.m. to secure his seat for a 10 a.m. start time.

Kennedy took the podium to rousing cheers, the Rice board of trustees, local leaders and federal officials sitting behind him. Even as some dabbed their faces with handkerchiefs - the temperature was 89 degrees but felt hotter - the president appeared unfazed.

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He launched into his speech, appealing to humankinds curiosity and more recent history of rapid innovative growth. He referred to space as a new frontier, and referencing the secrecy of the Soviet Union, he alluded to the benefits of creating ones own destiny - and he said he wanted U.S. technology to be a force for good.

Kennedy intended for America to be first in the space race, he said in the address, penned by speechwriter Ted Sorenson. It would take money, and Houston would be a massive part of the effort.

Ezra Charles Helpinstill, then 18, said the experience is glued in his brain. At the time a freshman who just finished his Rice orientation, he remembers the sunlight tinting Kennedys hair red, the patriotism he felt and the thrill of uncharted territory.

It was exhilarating, and I never got over it, Helpinstill said.

Terry ORourke, then 15, biked to the stadium and posted up with his Brownie Hawkeye camera. He was stirred to action: The speech is what he attributes as his entry into public service, and he years later became an environmental lawyer.

It made me want to serve my country in a special way, and I wanted to be with him, ORourke said.

Kennedys address also lifted then-17-year-old Bill Broyles, who had completed his freshman orientation at Rice. Wearing the beanie hat given to all first-year students, he said he felt the presidents call, redirecting the fears of the Cold War toward something great for the history of mankind.

Even in my freshman beanie, I felt transformed, said Broyles, who went on to cowrite the film Apollo 13. He was a small figure in the middle of the football field, but you could hear his voice.

Broyles recalls that five years prior to the speech, he sat at home listening to Sputnik I beep, beep, beep on the radio. The first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union, was terrifying, he said.

Melissa Kean, a Rice University historian, said the speech solidified the institutions relationship with NASA, resulting in research partnerships, better faculty recruiting and federal grant money - a newer occurrence for the school.

The relationship also culminated in Rices desegregation: Nondiscrimination clauses in the new federal contracts pushed Rice to take the final step, Kean said.

It absolutely invigorated the campus, she said. All of the sudden, everything was exciting. We were going to help them go to the moon. Can you imagine?

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The pressure was on, but NASA officials took the directive seriously. Gerry Griffin, who served as a flight director during all of NASAs Apollo missions, said Kennedys words carried weight each day as he worked.

That speech kept ringing in our ears, were going to do this thing in this decade, he said. When we started, I dont think any of us, we werent 100 percent sure we could do it. But we were going to give it our dangdest to happen.

Several successful moon landings later, Griffin remembers a quiet night as his Apollo 17 crew returned from space.

Some of his coworkers began musing about the future. It was the last scheduled lunar mission.

One of the guys said, This is it, its done, said Griffin, who was at the time the lead flight director.

I said, I think in 20 years well be on Mars. Shows you what kind of predictor I am.

Griffin later became the director of the Johnson Space Center. He said he thought their rapid-fire pace would continue on other projects, and it didnt happen.

NASA remains competitive in space technology, but a sense of indecision about its goals has contributed to what many would perceive to be slower progress, said Victoria Samson, Washington office director for the Secure World Foundation.

It seems they have a bit of a challenge in figuring out what their raison d'tre is, Samson said. NASA in the 60s had a very much more clear-cut end goal now its much more diffuse.

Private space companies have filled in some gaps but still fall behind their schedules, Autry said. And failure is not an option underfunding makes each step in the process crucial to do successfully, especially for NASAs Artemis missions, he added.

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Griffin sometimes gets frustrated that Americans havent yet returned to the moon, he said. Kennedys leadership proved that the country make amazing technological advances, and fast.

But every success in space comes from the trajectory started by Apollo, he said, and that cant be understated. That can all be traced back to Kennedys morning at Rice on Sept. 12, 1962.

Im sure glad that President Kennedy came to Texas to give that speech, and Rice was a perfect place for it, he said. He set the stage and we got it done.

samantha.ketterer@houstonchronicle.com

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JFK's moon speech was 60 years ago. Has the US lived up to it? - Houston Chronicle