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Vice President Lyndon Johnson visits JPL
Photograph Number P-1723A

On October 4, 1961 Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visited JPL.  In his role as Chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, he toured the Lab and heard presentations about JPL’s lunar programs (Ranger and Surveyor), planetary program, the DSN, and future plans.  President Kennedy had made his presentation to Congress several months earlier, about putting a man on the moon before the decade ended.  During the 1960s, JPL’s role shifted somewhat from lunar and planetary exploration to support of and preparation for manned missions to the moon and planets.

This photo shows Johnson walking out of the cafeteria (then located in Building 114) with JPL Director William Pickering, while employees gathered around.

For more information about the history of JPL, contact the JPL Archives for assistance.   [Archival and other sources:  Lab-Oratory, October 1961 and Minutes of briefing on the occasion of the visit of Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice President of the United States of America to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, October 4, 1961, 10/19/61, HC 3-322 (JPL internal use only).