On Oct 23, 1957 "Navy Log" had broadcast the story of Lt Kennedy. The famous coconut with the messsage carved in the husk was shown and the swimming feat of dragging an injured crewman belied a physical disablity!
Camelot was hype and spin, to say the least, and his legacy is the dreams that men are made of!
He did set us on our trek to the stars, and I believe that he and Roddenberry, (a naval aviator during WWII) would have hit it off!
JFK did not do this for any grand noble purpose. He did it mainly for pure political purposes: To beat the Soviets into space.