Evening star., 1962-11-18
BY WILLIAM HINES
Star Science Writer


ing Texas metropolis of one
million souls is in the grip of
a rootin' -tootin' boom born Of
the Space Age. Results promise
to be as far-out as anything
In President Kennedy's vas
program to send men to the
moon IA the SOS.
Houston's civic boosters grope
for new superlatives to describe
the future of their city, now
nicknamed "Spacetown, U.S.A."
They say that before the end
Of the century it will be the
biggest in the Nation-larger
than New York in population,
larger than Rhode Island in
area.
There are three striking
Wings about the Houston
boom:
/. 1t Is a boom on top of
q boom. Except for a slight
slump at the end of the SOS,
Houston's economy has been
climbing steadily and rapidly
for the last quarter of -a-cen-
tury.
2. 1t is built on a tiny base.
Essentially it rests on the
shoulders Of is men in training
for space flight - the six orig
inal Astronauts who are still
space-qualified, plus a second
generation" of nine trainees.
From this nucleus q chain re-
action Is spreading-thousands
Of NASA workers support the
Astronauts and, in turn, need
homes and services that must
be provided by thousands more.
8. 1t can be credited largely
to the efforts of one man:
Houston's senior Representa-
tive in Congress, Albert
Thomas, Democrat of the 9Th
District. Many HouStonianS be-
leve Mr.. Thomas was the prime
mover in persuading the Fed
eral space agency to establish
the vast Manned Spacecraft
Center which has given primary
impetus to the boom.
Decision Came In September
There are two versions of how
the decision to built the center
In Houston came about in the
period starting with Mr.. Ken
nedy's moon message Of May
rs, 1861, and ending the fol-
lowing September 10. On that
date, the National Aero
nautics and Space Agency an
nounced it would locate "a $50
million manned space flight
laboratory on 1000 acres of
land to be made available to
the Government by Rice Uni
versity."
In NASA's official version,
the Presidents moon proclama-
ton suddenly and drastically
changed the entire space pro-
gram by pointing NASA's ma
jor effort toward lunar land
ings. This rendered inadequate
the 800-employe Space Task
Group, which had been run
ming Project Mercury from
quarters at Hampton,
va, near Norfolk. A vast ex-
pansion was required.
NASA thereupon started look
ing for a suitable site for a space
laboratory. The site should
have year : round outdoors"
type climate, ready access to
the sea, a large labor force, |
an adequate water supply. an
attractive cultural atmosphere, +
a major center of scientific
learning, and other amenities.
In August a set of site-selec-
ton criteria was drawn up. A
site survey team drawn from
NASA received the cri-
terra on August II and began
site inspections on August 81.
A score of sites were inspected,
including three in Harris Coun-
ty around Houston. The "Clear
Lake" site 20 miles southeast
Of Houston was finally decided
on as best suited to NASA'S
needs.
Other Sites Inspected
Before the Houston selection
was ratified, NASA explains,
sites from Boston to Seattle
were examined and ruled out.
In the unofficial version of
the story, it is pointed out that
the Presidents message accel-
Grated but did not basically
alter an existing space plan
in 1860 which called
for manned moon landings
after 1870" Expansion of the
Space Task Group and its
transfer to the less crowded
Goddard Space Flight Center
near Washington were already
contemplated.
The record shows - in the
form of a dispatch to the Hous-
ton Chronicle from its Wash
ington correspondent on June
13, 1861 - that Houston was
placed in the running for the
spacecraft center by Represen-
tative Thomas. Location of a
new NASA laboratory in tn e
Houston area is being consid-
ered," the legislator said.
Actually, NASA was not
then considering Houston. But
the Space Agency, along with
the other independent offices"
of the Government, has long
since learned to listen when