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The era leading up to the July 1969 historic launch, however, was not without conflict. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was a desperate struggle between two empires for ultimate power and prestige, resulting in the production of more and more weapons of mass destruction. Safety was a primary concern for both nations at a time when a nuclear holocaust seemed imminent. Between the late 1950s and early 1960s, tension between the two nations was at its highest; after the Cuban Missile Crisis, a nuclear bombing by either side was deemed a very real threat. “For the first time in the history of the United States, the potential to just be wiped out, to be annihilated, now existed,” Launius explained. That had never before been the case, he added. “So this was a very desperate struggle, with the potential [for] a nuclear holocaust.”

The ‘Space Race’ was a way to gain power by showing the world that, from a scientific and technological perspective, the United States was second to none, Launius explained. “Apollo and the moon race would [demonstrate this] in a way that was non-threatening. No one was going to die in that particular rivalry,” he said. “So it was a safe means of doing it.” 
           
NASA’s Apollo program had certain advantages over the Soviet’s Vostok and Soyuz programs. Despite the Soviet Union’s successful launching of Sputnik 1, the first satellite in space, their space program lacked organization and infrastructure. The Soviet Union’s “semi-autonomous design bureaus” were made up of several government agencies competing for designs and resources, a model that proved inferior to the United States’ single-coordinating body in charge of research and design. “[The Soviets] spent [a lot of] time bureaucratically fighting amongst themselves, arguing about who’s going to do what and how they’re going to divvy up the money, without the clear top-down managing structure that NASA provided to the moon program in the U.S.,” Launius said. The U.S. also had greater economic resources to fund their space program. 
           
At first, the purpose and goals of the ‘Space Race’ seemed to justify the expensive costs of funding the Apollo program. As years went by and costs increased, however, Americans began to question if the investment was worth the financial burden to the country. “It’s a little bit like [when] a sizeable percentage of the American public in 2001 said we’re going to [go to war] after 9/11, and, in 2002, they started the invasion of Iraq… [initially, this] was generally supported by most people,” Launius said. “But over a period of time, as it drags on, as it costs more money, as things happen that take the crisis off the table, then lots of folks step up and say ‘it’s probably not the best use of our resources.’”

The total cost of the space program has been 24.5 billion dollars, over 240 billion in today’s dollars. But the concern with costs was not the case during the Kennedy-Johnson administration. The notable “Man on the Moon,” speech given by President John F. Kennedy at Rice Stadium, in 1962, ignited the nation’s space exploration program. In fact, it became a hallmark moment throughout the tumultuous Cold War period. Kennedy boldly predicted that, “The exploration of space” is “one of the great adventures… to look to the moon,” using “a banner of freedom. We intend to be first,” his voice echoed throughout the stadium on that sunny day. Then the pensive Kennedy looked askance at the crowd. “Why choose the moon? Why climb the highest mountain?” he continued, “Putting a man on the moon will be done in the sixties, before the end of the decade” – a firm declaration of America’s power.

The perceived benefits of the program outweighed the costs, even to the average American. That initial summer launch of Apollo 11 and the subsequent second landing of astronauts on the moon in December 1969 proved to the world that the United States was the leading innovator of technology and science. “The purpose for which Apollo was designed was highly successful,” Launius firmly stated. “Prestige flowed to the United States, foreign relations were enhanced through the process, we gained allies through this, and all of that was a part of the agenda.” 

That kind of hope, enthusiasm and faith in American potential proved a powerful force. Space, as one of the final frontiers, has the capacity to stimulate the invention of new technologies and to bring people together in pursuit of a common cause.

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