An Uncertain Future for NASA

In his final weeks in office, NASA administrator Keith Glennan grew increasingly distressed by the lack of any contact from the incoming Kennedy administration. Shortly after the election, Glennan spoke briefly with Jerome Wiesner. He tried to probe Wiesner regarding the schedule for naming the new NASA administrator, but Wiesner only asked whether Glennan was willing to stay on in the job, to which Glennan replied in the negative. By January 3, Glennan noted in his diary that “never in my life have I seemed so frustrated in attempting to bring an important job to a conclusion.” He bemoaned that NASA had “been in a state of suspended animation since the election” and that “not one single word or hint of action has been forthcom­ing from the Kennedy administration.”63

On January 9, the impatient Glennan called vice president-elect Lyndon Johnson. Glennan told Johnson that he “felt a heavy responsibility in the matter of turning over my job to my successor” and that he “was ready to help in any way desired.” He added that he had heard that finding a new NASA administrator was proving difficult, and offered “to help in the pro­cess.” Glennan noted that this was “his first contact with the new adminis­tration, and that he had to initiate it.” He reported that Johnson replied to his call by thanking him lavishly for his helpful attitude and then saying “as soon as I have something to tell or discuss with you, I will call you!”64 Such a call never came.

On January 17, with still no word from the incoming administration, Glennan called the White House to alert the staff there that no senior person at NASA had been asked to stay on, and that Hugh Dryden had expressed his willingness to serve as acting administrator during the change in admin­istrations. An hour later, he was told that Clark Clifford, who was handling personnel appointments for president-elect Kennedy, had indicated to the White House that the new administration did indeed want Dryden to stay on.65 There still was no direct contact between NASA and the Kennedy team.

Glennan’s last day at NASA was January 19, 1961. After sherry with a few of his staff, Glennan left NASA for the final time, intending to begin the drive back to his home in Cleveland that evening. However, Washington was paralyzed by a blizzard, and it was not until 6:30 a. m. on January 20, the day of the Kennedy’s inauguration, that he was able to leave. As he drove west and listened to the inauguration ceremonies on his car radio, Keith Glennan reflected on “some 29 months of interesting, exciting, baffling, and, at times, frustrating work in Washington.” His somewhat melancholy last entry into the diary of his time in Washington was: “And still—no word from the Kennedy administration!”66

Neither Keith Glennan nor anyone else connected with the nation’s civil­ian space program could have anticipated the dramatic changes in the nation’s space policy that would emerge over the next few months.