during the next five years, the national aeronautic and space administration expects to double the number of scientists and engineers in this area, to increase its out laisz for salaries and expenses to $60 million a year, to invest some $200 million in plant and laboratory facilities, and to direct our contract for new space efforts over $1 billion from this center in this city. to be sure, all this costs us all a good deal of money. this year's space budget is three times what it was in january 1961. and it is greater than the space budget of the previous eight years combined. that budget now stands at $5,400,000,000 a year. a staggering sum, though somewhat less than we pay for cigarettes and cigars. [ applause ] space expenditures will soon rise some more. from 40 cents per person per week to more than 50 cents a week for every man, woman and child in the united states. for we have given this program a high national priority. even though i realize that this is in some measure an act of faith and vision, for we do not now know what benefits await us, but if i were to say, my fellow cit