Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations

Summary

Integration matters at KSC required a great deal of attention during the early years of Apollo. KSC officials worked closely with Marshall, Houston, and the stage contractors in shaping the launch facility to Apollo-Saturn dimensions. While an integrating role for General Electric was rejected, intercenter panels provided an effective means of coordination. The increased workload altered KSC's relations with its contractors. The launch center took on the direction of contract work previously performed for Marshall or Houston. In turn contractors assumed more responsibility under mission contracts. The Apollo coordination brought its share of disagreements--witness the dispute over a destruct charge on the command and service modules. By 1965, however, most of the conflicts were resolved. KSC had achieved a good working order between its government team and contractors, and relations with other organizations were reasonably well defined.


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