Congressman Bob Casey on Joint Moon Shot (1963)

Duration: 1:05

Year Published: 1963

Sound: sound

Description: In this news segment for Houston’s KPRC-TV, broadcast on October 14, 1963, Congressman Bob Casey returns to Houston during a congressional recess. Upon his arrival, a KPRC reporter asks Casey about the US House of Representatives voting against a bill calling for a joint US-Soviet Moon expedition. Casey explains that the measure failed to pass because of national defense concerns and distrust over sharing technology. Hoping to improve Soviet-American relations, President John F. Kennedy first called for a joint Moon venture during a United Nations address on September 19. Domestic reactions were mixed, while the Soviet government made no official statement. The two nations would not conduct a joint space mission until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.