Debates and policies in the late 1950s and early 1960s regarding the United States-Soviet space race are described in this paper, and an analysis is presented of press coverage of President John F. Kennedy's public statements regarding space technology and exploration. The first sections of the paper present a selected space chronology from 1957 to 1975, describe debates that occurred between 1957 and 1961 regarding the proper role for the U.S. in view of Russia's successes in space exploration, show how increasing pressure was placed on Kennedy in 1960 and 1961 to make a critical decision about the U.S. space program, and tell how efforts were begun between the Soviets in space. The paper then reports on an analysis of the coverage by three major U.S. newspapers of 11 public statements in which Kennedy referred to space technology and exploration and also to the Soviet Union. Among the conclusions reported are: (1) there was no obvious relationship between newspaper coverage of space-related issues and the space-related issues discussed by Kennedy; (2) Kennedy emphasized U.S. space efforts and U.S.-Soviet space cooperation, while the newspapers focused on Soviet space achievements and on the U.S.-Soviet space race; and (3) most newspeper items mentioned national prestige. (GT)