50th Anniversary: Kennedy Calls For Moon Landing

Fifty years ago today, on May, 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress to discuss "Urgent National Needs."

Just 20 days after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to fly in space, Kennedy told Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth."

Total U.S. time tallied in human spaceflight at that moment: 15 minutes.

Now that's boldly going....