Reactions to the Gagarin Flight

Congressional and media reaction to the Soviet achievement on April 12 and the next several days resembled—indeed, in some ways exceeded—the rather hysterical reactions after the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. Clearly, this second Soviet space achievement was a major political setback for the new administration.

The Soviet Union was quick to capitalize on the propaganda significance of the successful flight. In his first telephone conversation with Gagarin after his return to Earth, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev boasted: “Let the capi­talist countries catch up with our country!” The Central Committee of the Communist Party claimed that the flight “embodied the genius of the Soviet people and the powerful force of socialism.” East German Communist leader Walter Ulbricht said that the flight “demonstrates to the whole world that socialism must triumph over the decaying system of yesterday.” Reacting to claims such as these, a New York Times correspondent suggested that it appeared likely that “the Soviet leaders can further alter the atmosphere of international relations so as to create more pressure on Western governments to make concessions on the great world issues of the present day.”7

The rest of the world was almost unanimous in its admiration of the Soviet achievement. In Great Britain, “universal praise for the Soviet achievement from Cabinet ministers, diplomats, scientists, and the general public was accompanied by some anti-American barbs from men in the street.” The French press “relegated all other news to a secondary position. . . Even com­ments and reactions to President De Gaulle’s news conference were put into relative obscurity.” In Italy, “news of the successful Russian space flight was heralded . . . in banner headlines.” Romans snapped up the papers, emptying kiosks in a matter of minutes, then stood around discussing the event. The Vatican newspaper called the flight “a universal good” and a Geneva paper termed the voyage “the number one event of the twentieth century.”8

The U. S. Information Agency summarized world reaction to the Gagarin flight in an April 21 report, which noted that “media coverage of the Soviet man-in-space has been extraordinarily heavy,” with its initial volume “com­parable to that received by Sputnik 1, if not greater.” The “general tenor” of the press reports was “to acclaim the first manned space flight as (1) a great event in human history, ( 2) a tremendous scientific and technical achieve­ment, and ( 3) a triumph for the USSR that would have many repercussions in the Cold War,” since it would “increase Soviet military, political, and propaganda leverage.”9

American reaction to the Gagarin flight was characterized by disappoint­ment and chagrin. No high official had prepared the general public to expect the Soviet flight, and thus for many it came almost as much of a shock as the 1957 Sputnik 1 launch. The Washington Post commented editorially: “The fact of the Soviet space feat must be faced for what it is, and it is a psychologi­cal victory of the first magnitude for the Soviet Union. . . The general excite­ment from Europe to Asia, Africa and the Americas will not be diminished by the recognition that no immediate military, commercial or other actual advantage accrues to the Soviet Union. In these matters, what people believe is as important as the actual facts, and many persons will of course take this event as new evidence of Soviet superiority.”10

The New York Times correspondent Harry Schwartz commented that “the President, of course, had attempted to present himself as an image of a young, active, and vigorous leader of a strong and advancing nation. . . But none of these and other measures have had the effectiveness or the spectacu­lar quality of Soviet efforts. Moreover, since he took office the President’s image has been beset by the difficulties he has had with Congress, by his failure to spell out the promised ‘sacrifices’ to be required of the American people and by the continued recession.”11

The hawkish New York Times military correspondent Hanson Baldwin was even sharper in his criticism.

This same philosophy, which cost the nation heavily in prestige and marred the political and psychological image of our country abroad, hobbled our

space program even before the Russians put the first sputnik in orbit_____ It is

high time to discard this policy. In fact, if the United States is to compete in space, we must decide to do so on a top-priority basis immediately, or we face a bleak future of more Soviet triumphs.

Even though the United States is still the strongest military power and leads in many aspects of the space race, the world—impressed by the spectacu­lar Soviet firsts—believes that we lag militarily and technologically.

The dangers of such false images to our military power and diplomacy are obvious. The neutral nations may come to believe the wave of the future is Russian; even our friends and allies could slough away. The deterrent, which after all is only as strong as Premier Khrushchev thinks it is, could be weak­ened.

Baldwin concluded by pointing out that “only Presidential emphasis and direction will chart an American pathway to the stars.”12

John F. Kennedy was an avid newspaper reader. He very likely had criti­cisms such as these in mind as he considered how best to respond to this new Soviet challenge.