When and where did Kennedy give the "We choose to go to the Moon" speech?
Kennedy delivered the speech on the 12th of September 1962, at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas, before a crowd of about 40,000 people.
Questions about We choose to go to the Moon
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who wrote Kennedy's "We choose to go to the Moon" speech?
The speech was largely written by presidential advisor and speechwriter Ted Sorensen, with revisions by Kennedy himself, including a handwritten joke about the Rice-Texas football rivalry.
Why did Kennedy choose the Moon as America's space goal?
NASA administrator James E. Webb advised Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson that landing on the Moon was the only realistic option for beating the Soviet Union in space. A space station was deemed impossible to win, and orbiting a man around the Moon first was uncertain; the Moon landing was the best remaining option, though the most expensive.
How much did Kennedy's Moon program cost?
NASA administrator James E. Webb estimated the program would require $22 billion to achieve a Moon landing by 1970. Former President Eisenhower later publicly called spending $40 billion to reach the Moon "just nuts."
Did Kennedy want the Moon landing to be a joint US-Soviet mission?
Yes. Kennedy proposed a joint Moon mission to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in June 1961, and again in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on the 20th of September 1963. Khrushchev did not accept, though his military advisors later encouraged him to reconsider.
Was Kennedy's Moon goal achieved and what happened to the Apollo program afterward?
Kennedy's goal was fulfilled posthumously on the 20th of July 1969, with the successful Apollo 11 Moon landing. Six further crewed missions followed, ending with Apollo 17 in 1972, after which planned Apollo missions were canceled.