One of the most critical technical decisions made during the
conduct of Project Apollo was the method of flying to the Moon,
landing on the surface, and returning to Earth. Within NASA during
this debate several modes emerged. The one eventually chosen was
lunar-orbit rendezvous (LOR), a proposal to send the entire lunar
spacecraft up in one launch. It would head to the Moon, enter into
orbit, and dispatch a small lander to the lunar surface. It was the
simplest of the various methods, both in terms of development and
operational costs, but it was risky. Since rendezvous would take
place in lunar, instead of Earth, orbit there was no room for error
or the crew could not get home. Moreover, some of the trickiest
course corrections and maneuvers had to be done after the
spacecraft had been committed to a circumlunar flight. Between the
time of NASA's conceptualization of the lunar landing program and
the decision in favor of LOR in 1962, a debate raged between
advocates of the various methods. John C. Houbolt, an engineer at
the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, was one of the
most vocal of those supporting LOR and his campaign in 1961 and
1962 helped to shape in a fundamental way the deliberations. This
monograph is an important contribution to the study of NASA history
in general, and the process of accomplishing a large scale
technological program (in this case Apollo) in particular. In many
ways, the lunar mode decision was an example of heterogeneous
engineering, a process that recognizes that technological issues
are also simultaneously organizational, economic, social, and
political. Various interests often clash in the decision-making
process as difficult calculations have to be made and decisions
taken. What perhaps should be suggested is that a complex web or
system of ties between various people, institutions, and interests
brought forward the lunar-orbit rendezvous mode of going to the
Moon in the 1960s.
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