Office of the Historian

406. Letter From the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Johnson) to the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Webb)1

Washington, October 14, 1963.

Dear Jim:

With reference to our conversation on how best to follow up on the President’s proposal before the United Nations General Assembly that we should explore the possibilities of cooperation with the Soviets in manned exploration of the moon,2 I suggest we should have as clear an [Page 920] understanding of the broad technical and programmatic aspects as is possible at this time.

We have as yet not received any official response to the President’s proposal, and it seems doubtful that the Soviets will soon bring themselves to face up to the severe security, programmatic and political problems involved in discussing such a joint undertaking. Nonetheless we should be as fully prepared to deal with any response which may be forthcoming from them as we have been throughout the Dryden-Blagonravov discussions to date.

We would therefore appreciate receiving NASA’s views as soon as possible. We have in mind, for example, such considerations as the following:

1.
What modes of cooperation would be useful? Which would be practicable? Which would be most advantageous from the viewpoint of our national program? Which would appear to be most likely to evoke a constructive response from the Soviets?
2.
What significant effects upon our Gemini and Apollo programs should we anticipate? What measure of commitment or diversion of our national program should be entailed?
3.
What assurances ought we to require? How could cooperation be developed so as to provide adequate assurances at each significant step before proceeding to the next, or so as to be able to disengage with minimum adverse effects?
4.
Should we proceed along the lines already laid out for the Dryden-Blagonravov discussions, or should we proceed on a different basis in this instance?

I would propose that after you have had an opportunity to formulate your views on the foregoing questions and any others that you may consider pertinent, to call a meeting to include other interested agencies at which we would seek to formulate general terms of reference for dealing with any Soviet response.

Sincerely,

Alex3
  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1960–63, SP 10. Confidential. Drafted by Richard F. Packard on October 10 and retyped in S/S-S on October 14.↩
  2. President Kennedy addressed the 18th UN General Assembly on September 20. During his speech, he suggested that a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition to the moon might be possible. See Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963, p. 695.↩
  3. Printed from a copy that indicates Johnson signed the original.↩