LETTER TO DR. HOMER E. NEWELL FROM GERARD P. KUIPER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP71R00510A000300190009-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 10, 2005
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: March 1, 1968
• Content Type: LETTER

roved Fo~elease 2005/03/30 : CIA-RDP7180055000300190009-4
CSON, RIZONA 8572I
PERSONAL
Dr. Homer E. Newell
Associate Administrator for Space
Science and Applications
NASA Headquarters
Code SL
Washington, D. C. 20546
space race had begun and was continued..;
The message they received caused a panic and Sputnik I was organized on
a crash basis and launched October 4, 1957. The Russians were amazed
at the American reaction which was, of course, different from what they
had expected. It was then realized that.they had made a. mistake. The
the moon December 1957. Korolev's group had a considerable arsenal of
rocketry but had not seriously developed scientific equipment for space.
DD/3T#
I picked up some items about the Russian space program that would
seem to be not without interest. Possibly, you are already acquainted
with them. In August 1957 the Russian government received a notice
from their representatives abroad that the Americanswere going to have
a conference in December 1957 on sending a spacecraft to the moon. The
secretary who typed the message left out a line by mistake so that the
message actually read the Americans were going to send a spacecraft to
at pressure of about 20 atm.
pressure the Russian scientists had estimated. The collapse took place
the spacecra t i no
reach the surface of the planet but collapsed before, since it was de-
signed to withstand pressures of. around 10 atm, which was the surface
A second item of interest relates to the Russian spacecraft, Venus
IV.
tives have been invited also. I have informed Professor Martynov and
where the Venus results will be announced. I suppose that NASA representa-
I have been invited to attend the meeting October 1968 in Kiev
INTOURIST of my tentative acceptance.
was an aircraft designer), not scientific.,,,
to the moon and the planets. His interest was largely technological (he
started his work in the 1880's and '90's. Korolev wanted to send rockets
He had been inspired by the Russian inventor of rockets, Tsiolkovsky, who
Korolev started the space developments in the early s
the Russian program has somewhat suffered from the death of Koro ev
the death of the leader of the Russian
the investment of the Russian space program is perhaps one-half or one-third
space program had left the program weakened)
significance.
of the U. S. program,,though any such statement is of rather uncertain
With best-?regards, Si cerel ours,
Approved For Release, 4Q05/03/30: CIA-RDP71 800510 Q Q 1~ Q9- .~,
Gerard P. Kuioer
- rector
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