Answer:
President John F. Kennedy believed that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union in the space race for several reasons. Two examples are:
Soviet successes in space: The Soviet Union had achieved several significant milestones in space before the United States, including the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957 and the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. These successes demonstrated Soviet technological superiority, which concerned Kennedy and many Americans.
Political implications: The Cold War was a major geopolitical concern during Kennedy's presidency. The Soviet Union's advances in space could be interpreted as evidence of their overall superiority and as a threat to American security. Kennedy believed that the United States needed to demonstrate its technological capabilities and leadership to the world and that space exploration was an important part of that effort. He famously declared in a 1962 speech, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." This statement exemplifies his desire to demonstrate American technological prowess and to show that the United States was not falling behind the Soviet Union.