Shapley's first involvement in the space program was in helping to craft the March 1958 memo that led to the creation of NASA. Later, after the Soviet Union successfully launched the first man into space, he was part of the committee that drafted a memo advocating for NASA's manned space program, which served as the starting point for President John F. Kennedy's Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs on May 25, 1961, calling for the U.S. to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth.
