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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JKR-01
In this interview Ruina discusses the Nike-Zeus antiballistic-missile-missiles; briefing President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on the Nike-Zeus missiles; JFK’s comprehension of the briefing material and the type of questions he asked; Project Defender; the background and organization of the Advanced Research Projects Agency; the leadership and organization of the Department of Defense; interactions with Robert S. McNamara; competition between the military and the Defense Department on research and development and for resources and congressional funds; the period of new, advanced—but not always useful—technology; and Project AGILE and counterinsurgency efforts in Vietnam, among other issues.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-09-11-D
ST13, KN22
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-09-11-C
ST13, KN22
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23696
President John F. Kennedy (center right, in foreground) tours the Titan Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida; a Titan II Air Force rocket sits on launch pad in background. Also pictured: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Secretary of the Air Force, Eugene M. Zuckert; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr.; Manager of Florida Operations for the Manned Spacecraft Center, G. Merritt Preston; Representative Victor L. Anfuso (New York); chief scientific adviser to the Ministry of Defence of Great Britain, Sir Solly Zuckerman; Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner; Director of the Bureau of the Budget, David E. Bell; White House Secret Service agents, Bill Greer, Rufus Youngblood, Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn, Ron Pontius, Bill Duncan, and Toby Chandler. Site workers observe in background. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of NASA field installations. [Discoloration along top edge of image is original to the negative.]