THE APOLLO PROGRAM The Apollo Space Program began long before the first American went into space. In July 1960, NASA announced a program to send astronauts around the Moon. President John F. Kennedy in a speech to Congress on May 25, 1961, shifted attention from an orbit around the Moon to actually landing men on the lunar surface. The goals for Apollo were: To establish the technology to meet other national interests in space. To achieve preeminence in space for the United States. To carry out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon. To develop man’s capability to work in the lunar environment. 44 of 60
Florida Space Research Institute ©2002