419. Letter From President Kennedy to the Chairman of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (Killian)1

Dear Dr. Killian:

Thank you for your letter of May 16th.2 I welcome your thoughtful suggestions on the difficult policy and security problems we face in fulfilling the various international commitments we have assumed or are negotiating in the field of outer space. I have issued a National Security Action Memorandum calling on the appropriate Departments to re-examine our position on this matter and give me recommendations for a national policy which gives full consideration to the needs of our reconnaissance satellite programs.3

The other points you have raised have been examined and I am satisfied that they have been dealt with satisfactorily. Specifically, the Department of State has assured me that the key negotiating officials at the UN and elsewhere have been fully cleared and briefed on our satellite reconnaissance program. Steps have also been taken to establish a special clearance for use in the future for those officials who cannot meet the strict need-to-know criteria for any of the existing clearances but who require some general orientations as to our program.

The position papers for the forthcoming Geneva meetings on outer space have been fully coordinated and cleared by the appropriate agencies. They have been carefully designed to protect our national security interests both for the present and future. I am confident they fully serve this purpose.

I am looking forward to our meeting on June 26th and the opportunity it offers to discuss these matters further.

Sincerely,

John Kennedy4
  1. Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Meetings and Memoranda Series, NSAM No. 156, Negotiations on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Box 336. Top Secret. A copy of the letter was sent to General Taylor. A typed note at the end of the letter reads: “Signed ltr picked up by Mr. Coyne’s office 5/28/62 w/cc and orig of incoming ltr 5/16/62 fm FIAB to President.”
  2. Not found. See Document 418.
  3. Document 420.
  4. Printed from a copy that indicates Kennedy signed the original.