Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-04-20
Our Position in Space


The great problems and promises in
volved in our country's effort to achieve
leadership in space have been effectively
outlined by DR.. T. Keith Glennan in the
address he has just delivered to the
National Petroleum Association meeting
in Cleveland. Taken as a whole, the
picture he has drawn is encouraging,
but he has been at pains to emphasize
that our position in the field is still
second to that of the Soviet Union in
at least one important respect.
Thus, speaking as head of our Ma
tional AeronauticS and Space Admins
tration, DR.. Glennan has made clear that
the Russians are substantially ahead of
us at present in terms of being able to
place heavy payloadS in orbit-a supe-
riority explained by "the fact that they
began serious work in the ballistic mis-
Sile field six or eight years earlier than
we did" AS result, we have quite a
lot Of developmental labor cut out for
us in trying to catch up with them in
the power of our rocket propulsion, and
they may therefore be the first to send
a man on successful round-trip orbital
flight
But this does not mean that the
United States has lost the race. Far
from it. Actually, as DR.. Glennan has
pointed out, our position in Spatial fields
other than rocket power is a good one.
For example, with respect to the acqui-
Sition of data obtained from ensorS in
our small but highly Instrumental pay
load packages, and the analysis and in
depreciation of that data, it seems clear
that we have done as well as the Soviet
scientists-indeed, in some areas, some
what better" Accordingly, in terms of
chronological know-how, there is every
reason for confidence that we can come
abreast of the Russians, and eventually
SurpaSS them, in the exploration of the
universe around US.
In any event, to that end, the NASA,
wholly apart from the Pentagon's Ad-
vanced Research Projects Agency, has
prepared Short-range and long-range
programs designed to make the United
States second to none in space. These
programs, besides being aimed at such
detectives as placing an American in
orbit some time in 1861, include the
establishment of Spatial laboratories,
orbital systems of weather forecaSting
and global communications, and un-
manned and manned landings on the
moon. Above all, they enviSion the pro-
duction-for use within the next four
nf cin0lo- 40 NIB rnaEot
booster engine that will provide be-
tween and is million pounds of thrust.
Given such an engine "a compa-
rable but makeShift intermediate YER
sion is expected to be developed much
earlier by the Army BalliStic Missile
Agency, our country will be equipped
to do many spectacular things. In DR..
Glennan'S words, we will be able, for
instance, ito propel payload weighing
more than 10 tons into satellite orbit.
Or we can land as much as two tons
on the moon, intact. Furthermore, by
arranging four of these engines in
cluster, we can raise our orbital payload
to rs tons, or place up to tons in
soft landing on the moon" And the
exploration of places like Mars and
Venus will then become anything but
fantastic.
This is prospect that speaks pretty
much for itself. Within matter Of
just few years, the United States will
be moving out into space in ways and
to distances which only recently were
regarded as inconceivable Russia will
be doing the same thing, of course, and
probably one or two other countries as
well. But we need not fear losing the
race if we act with vigor and dispatch
in meeting the challenges it poses.