Andfirstandforemost, I wanttothankyouandsharemyholidaywisheson.
I'm goingtodoitinanunusualway.
I mean, I couldsaybeautifulthings, andmaybetheywouldaffectyouabouthowstrongly I feelaboutthistimeofyearandpeopleandkindnessesandsharingandloveandgoodtimesthatmemories.
Buttheone I'm goingtoshareisaboutpeace.
Andit's a momentintimethat I happentomake a filmthatthislittleclipyou'reabouttoseeis a partof.
It's a beautifulstory.
Itinvolves a totalsecretby a presidentoftheUnitedStates, a secretthatCongressneverknewuntilhedidit, thatallofhisadministrationneverknewuntilhedidit, thathegatheredsomethinglike 80 peoplearoundhimanddidwithoutanyone's approvalthat I thoughtabsolutelyextraordinary.
Andthestoryprobablyyoudon't know.
SoitinvolvesPresidentEisenhower, 1957.
It's thetimeoftheColdWar.
It's thetimewhenthingsarescary.
Wearein a ColdWarwiththethreatofnuclearwarconstantly, andtheRussianshaveputup a satellite, andin 1957 theyputupSputnikoneandthenSputniktwo, andwe'restrugglingtoputup a rocketthathave a successfulrocketlaunch, andwemanagedtodoit.
Hedeveloped a topsecretproject, codenamedScore, with a teamof 88 handpicksciviliansandsoldierstheybuilt.
Anaudiotapeplayerdesignedtobelaunchedintospacewouldplay a personalmessagefromthepresidentthateveryoneeverywherecouldhear.
Eisenhowerwassodeterminedtokeepscore a secretitwouldbelaunchedwithouttheawarenessorapprovalofCongress, themilitaryoreventheCIA.
Lessthan a minuteremainsinthecountdown.
NewsmanJayBarbreesawit'll.
Itlaunchedsix.
Oncethesatellite, a radiosignalwassentfromtostarttaperingquarterthatkeepsplayingoverandover.
A messageofseasongreetingsfromtheUnitedfromthepresidentoftheUnitedStateswaitspiritofhiscountrywasjustmagnificentafterheheardhisvoicefromspacePresidentEisenhowersaidtothepress.