Statement by the President on the Flight to the Moon by Ranger IX.

RANGER IX showed the world further evidence of the dramatic accomplishments of the U.S. space team. Coming so close after yesterday's Gemini success, this far-out photography reveals the balance of the U.S. space program.

Steps toward the manned flight to the moon have become rapid and coordinated strides, as manned space maneuvers of one day are followed by detailed pictures of the moon on the next.

I congratulate the scientists, the engineers, the managers--private contractors as well as Government--all who made this Ranger shot and the successes of its predecessors the great space advances that they have been.