Let's start with the Presidents

The Space Program is a product of governmental policy.

For context, here are some very significant presidential speeches that have affected the Space Program over the last 50 years. If you watch them in total, you will see that the goals have remained roughly the same: create an infrastructure to take humans into outer space, to the moon, to Mars, and beyond. I have inserted Ronald Reagan's address to the nation on the day of the Challenger disaster to emphasize this pivotal moment. No policy was decided on that day, but sweeping changes took place shortly thereafter, and we see manifestations of that today. More on that as we continue this blog.

For now, you are invited to study the following complete presidential speeches. I suggest viewing them in order, and in their entirity.


John F. Kennedy, Address to a Special Joint Session of Congress, May 25, 1961


Richard M. Nixon, Telephone Call to Apollo 11, July 20, 1969


Ronald W. Reagan, The Challenger Speech, January 28, 1986


George W. Bush, The Vision for Space Exploration (text only), January 14, 2004


Barack H. Obama, Presidential Remarks on Human Spaceflight, April 15, 2010

In future postings, I will refer back to this set of speeches. I will also point to various documents and laws that were enacted as a matter of space policy. There is much more to come, as we explore the Space Program together!