IN THE BEGINNING, THE SELECT COMMITTEE J 3 



Mr. Brooks. As I understand it, you mean this is not in any sense competitive 

 with the Soviet program and as you make advances you do not check the advances 

 as against the Soviet program? 



Dr. Dryden. I would say that this program is not at a level at which we could 

 guarantee to do that; that is correct. 



Many other witnesses, including von Braun, Dornberger, General 

 Gavin, Admiral Rickover, and General Boushey, strongly supported 

 the need for manned flight in their testimony before the select com- 

 mittee. General Boushey (Deputy Director of Air Force Research and 

 Development) told the select committee: 



Another function which I believe only man can perform effectively is that of 

 interception and mid-space rendezvous. At first, such missions probably would be 

 for the purpose of refueling, thus permitting a manned, maneuvering space vehicle 

 to receive fuel from an uninhabited tanker satellite which might have been circling 

 in orbit for months or years. Eventually the capability to control space would be 

 augmented by the ability of manned military spacecraft to make interception or 

 rendezvous in space. 



Chairman McCormack assigned a subcommittee headed by Repre- 

 sentative Natcher to examine the issue of unidentified flying objects. 

 At this point, the select committee was not in a position to verify or 

 examine in depth the numerous UFO sightings, but was interested in 

 a briefing of what the Air Force had uncovered in its compilation and 

 analysis of the subject. According to Representative Natcher, "We 

 borrowed Les Arends' minority whip office in the Capitol, hung a 

 little sign on the door reading 'Subcommittee on Upper Atmospheric 

 Phenomena,' and as a result we could conduct our hearing without 

 any outside fuss or interference from anybody." 



The select committee hearings were very thorough, developed 

 logically, were well organized, the attendance by members was un- 

 usually high, press and public interest was great, and the witnesses 

 were drawn from a wide cross section of knowledgeable leaders in the 

 scientific world, military, the Government, and private industry. 

 Chairman McCormack was clearly the dominant force in leading the 

 questioning in the hearings, and in maintaining the high level of 

 interest which was displayed throughout. 



BIRTH OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS 



The leadership and jurisdiction of the House Committee on Science 

 and Astronautics developed from a fascinating interplay among con- 

 gressional personalities and the demands of the times. By the summer 

 of 1958, the Nation had come to the sobering realization that the 

 threat to the United States ran far deeper than a mere space race with 

 the Soviet Union. At stake was a serious challenge to American educa- 

 tion, basic research, the training of scientists and engineers, and the 



