The Space Race was a thrilling time for space enthusiasts, filled as it was with previously unimaginable achievements and firsts, beginning in 1957 with the Soviets’ launch of Sputnik 1. From the creation of NASA in 1958 through to the various satellites, humans and animals that were thrust into the sky by two hyper-competitive teams of unspeakably intelligent people, each and every move by the Soviet Union and the USA heightened the tension. It is no wonder, then, that a science-fiction author of Ray Bradbury’s calibre and experience would want, somehow, to get involved. In 1962, weeks before industry experts joined Kennedy at the Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Space in Seattle, Bradbury plainly offered his services to the Administration by way of this letter to Arthur Schlesinger, advisor to the President, along with copies of his books. A brief reply of thanks arrived from Kennedy two months later. Bradbury’s offer was not mentioned.
