"A Great New American Enterprise&quot

With the success of Alan Shepard’s flight on May 5, the momentum toward a dramatic acceleration of the American space effort, with its focal point being a “space program which promises dramatic results in which we could win,” was becoming unstoppable. Vice President Johnson’s consultations over the prior two weeks had revealed almost unanimous support for such an initiative. But before President Kennedy could announce his intent to enter and win the space race, the generalized support had to be turned into specific program recommendations with an accompanying political rationale and budget esti­mates. Kennedy on April 20 had asked for the conclusions of the vice presi­dent’s review “at the earliest possible moment.” With the vice president leaving Washington on May 8 for almost two weeks, that meant a busy weekend for those charged with putting the results of LBJ’s consultations into a form for Johnson to submit with his recommendation for presidential approval.