Van Allen

President Kennedy's News Conferences

News Conference 32, May 9, 1962

President John F. Kennedy

State Department Auditorium

Washington, D.C.

May 9, 1962

4:00 P.M. EDST (Wednesday)

341 In Attendance

QUESTION: Mr. President, it has been the stated policy, as you said earlier, for this government to restrict Outer Space for peaceful objectives only. Will not the proposed H-bomb explosion 500 miles up jeopardize this policy and objective?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I don't think so. I don't think so. I know there has been disturbance about the Van Allen belt, but Van Allen says it is not going to affect the belt. (laughter)

But it is a matter which we are -- I have read the protests, and it's a matter which we are looking into, to see whether there is scientific merit that this will cause some difficulty to the Van Allen belt in a way which will adversely affect scientific discovery, and this is being taken into very careful consideration at the present time. But I do -- I think that -- so that I want you to know that whatever our decision is that, in regard to the Van Allen belt, it will be done only after very careful scientific deliberation, which is now taking place, during this past week, and will go on for a period. In regard, generally, what we are attempting to do is to find out the effects of such an explosion on our security, and we do not believe that this will adversely affect the security of any person not living in the United States.

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