NASA, Rice University Mark 60th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy Speech

NASA and Rice University leaders will host multiple events to celebrate the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s historic speech at Rice Stadium in Houston, helping advance the agency’s leadership in human spaceflight through multiple eras including Apollo Moon landings, space shuttle, International Space Station, and soon, Artemis missions.

The agency will provide live coverage of the final event at 11 a.m. CDT on Monday, Sept. 12, commemorating the speech on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will be the keynote speaker. The program also features Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche as well as other agency officials, dignitaries, and local and national elected officials.

NASA leaders, including Nelson and Wyche, will be available to speak to media at Rice University at 9:30 a.m. on Monday. Media who want to attend commemoration events at Rice University, including interviewing NASA leaders, should RSVP in advance to Doug Miller, director of Rice News and Media Relations, at doug.miller@rice.edu or 713-348-6770.

Gates to the stadium will open to the public at 9 a.m. Monday. The event will feature exhibits from NASA, Space Center Houston, Rice University, and space industry partners, who will commemorate Kennedy’s historic challenge and unprecedented commitment of resources that set a young space agency on the path to achieve the goal with the successfully landing Apollo 11 astronauts on the Moon July 20, 1969.

Today, NASA is preparing to launch the agency’s Artemis I test flight to the Moon, a major step forward in the Artemis Generation of deep space exploration. The Space Launch System rocket will send the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I flight test around the Moon and back to Earth, paving the way for future missions with crew.

Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before for the benefit of all. In collaboration with commercial and international partners, NASA will establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, humanity will use what it learns on and around the Moon to begin the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.

Additional events and activities include at Rice University include:

Saturday, Sept. 10

10 a.m. – NASA pavilion and Industry and Research exhibits open to the public, free of charge.

11 a.m. – Space selfie on the Rice Stadium field, weather/clouds permitting. Details and registration at tinyurl.com/mr292zvm.

6:30 p.m. – Commemorative football game between the Rice University Owls and the McNeese State University Cowboys in Rice Stadium. Vanessa Wyche, director of the Johnson Space Center, will participate in the coin toss and members of NASA’s Orion team will be honored.
Sunday, Sept. 11

10 a.m. – Community Day: NASA and industry exhibits open to the public

Monday, Sept. 12

9:30 a.m. – NASA leaders available to speak with media.

11 a.m. – As noted above, NASA will provide live coverage of the main event. Participants will include:

– NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
– NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana
– NASA’s Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche
– NASA astronaut Shannon Walker
– Rice University President Reggie DesRoches
– Rice Space Institute Director Dr. David Alexander, Rice Space Institute (master – of ceremonies)
– Retired ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien
– Avalon Hogans, Houston’s youth poet laureate

Reporters and photographers covering the events will be required to bring media identification. Credentialing for the Sept. 12 event will be conducted on-site.

Media parking will be located in the South Stadium lot, using Entrance 10 on University Boulevard near Montclair Drive.

Visitor parking will be free for attendees.

https://external.jsc.nasa.gov/jfk-60th-anniversary/