Cass Ballenger: “during this Congress, the President has laid out a bold plan to return men to the moon and then go on to Mars as we…”

“during this Congress, the President has laid out a bold plan to return men to the moon and then go on to Mars as we begin to explore the wonders of our solar system, a vision that would not be possible were it not for a group of exceptional men who stepped forward to accept our Nation's Manifest Destiny of the 20th century. In those very early days some 45 years ago, we were behind in the race into space. The Russians had put the first satellite into orbit, sent the first living creature into space, and were the first to send an object to the Moon. American prestige was suffering around the world, and President Eisenhower and the Congress realized that things had to change. In response to that challenge, they created NASA and along with it, Project Mercury, the initial step that got us to the moon first. But those were difficult days. Our scientists and engineers were struggling to build rockets that were capable of lifting the heavy payloads needed to get us there, and those rockets would explode in gigantic fireballs almost as often as they didn't.”