Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-074
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of February 21, 1962 (News Conference 25).The President begins the press conference with a statement concerning the successful orbiting of the earth by astronaut Colonel John Glenn in which he discusses the historical impact of the Colonel’s achievement, expressed his gratitude for congratulatory messages received from foreign heads of states, and pays tribute to those foreign governments whose cooperation allowed for the successful operation of the Mercury program tracking network. He then discusses a message he had received from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in which the Premier suggested that it could be beneficial to the advancement of science if the Soviet Union and the United States cooperated in outer space exploration. Following this statement the President answers questions from the press on a variety of topics including the possibility of United States-Soviet space cooperation, the situation in Berlin, nuclear testing, and the urban affairs proposal.